Police Commissioner Norbert Wesseler emphasized how important it is to identify and prevent children and young people from slipping into crime at an early stage. This has worked very well in Düsseldorf for many years, as the police, justice system and youth welfare services can rely on trusting cooperation. The number of crimes committed by young people has been falling continuously for several years. Projects such as "Yellow Card", which intervene at an early stage to prevent young people aged 14 and over from becoming serious offenders, contribute to this.

As the Düsseldorf project officers KHK Frank Schier and Ruveyda Gül Cantürk reported, the "Kurve kriegen" initiative starts at an even earlier point, as it is aimed at children from the age of 8 who become conspicuous through violence or property offenses. Each case is examined individually to find out why the children and young people are delinquent; discussions are held with the families and, if necessary, the teachers and educational measures are taken, such as parenting training, sports courses or anti-aggression courses, to get the young offenders back on track.

The success proves the "Kurve kriegen" team right: almost 40% of participants do not commit any further crimes after successfully completing the project. In this way, "Kurve kriegen" not only reduces juvenile crime, but also the number of victims.

In addition to the above-mentioned contact to the youth officer, you can also reach the Düsseldorf police campaign via the email address kurvekriegen.duesseldorf [at] polizei.nrw.de (kk36[dot]duesseldorf[at]polizei[dot]nrw[dot]de).