Republican Interdepartmental Program "Care"

From May 1 to October 1, 2020, the republican interdepartmental program "Zabota" (Care) is being implemented throughout the Republic of Belarus. The program is aimed at organizing summer employment and leisure activities for adolescents, preventing them from committing administrative offenses and crimes, and preventing child mortality and injuries.

During the implementation of the republican interdepartmental program "Zabota" (Care), employees of the Lepel District Department of Internal Affairs will pay special attention to adolescents with whom the Inspectorate for Juvenile Affairs conducts individual preventive work, as well as children from dysfunctional, large, and low-income families. In the upcoming period, the focus of the Internal Affairs bodies' employees will be on close interaction with interested prevention entities to organize adolescent employment and ensure public order and child safety.

The prevention of juvenile delinquency is a crucial aspect of combating crime as a whole. Juvenile delinquency, its causes, and motives have specific characteristics, primarily determined by the personal qualities of minors, their social status, family influence, and peer group. One of the main reasons for adolescents committing offenses during the summer is their lack of engagement. When going on holidays, adolescents, if not involved in organized leisure activities and socially useful work, are largely left to their own devices. Parents, while at work, cannot always monitor their children's behavior and activities. Outside of adult supervision, minors often commit crimes or offenses simply to occupy themselves. In most cases, the criminal activity of minors is driven by self-interest and explained by adolescents' desire to satisfy their needs through illegal means. Therefore, the most common type of criminal offense committed by minors is property theft. Parents, educators, work collectives, and authorities play an important role in preventing juvenile offenses during the summer.

of internal affairs. To improve the effectiveness of work in this area, the capabilities of the district employment and social services department are to be used in terms of utilizing vacancies allocated for the employment of minors during the summer period. In addition, cooperation between educational, cultural, sports and tourism institutions of Lepel district is ensured for organizing leisure activities and maximizing the engagement of minors, as well as for identifying and eliminating the causes and conditions that contribute to alcoholism, drug addiction, toxicomania, and other offenses among minors.

Thus, for the elapsed period of 2020, as of May 11, 12 adolescents have already been identified for consuming alcoholic beverages in public places, with respect to whom administrative offense reports have been drawn up under Article 17.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus, and with whom the Juvenile Affairs Inspectorate of the Lepel District Department of Internal Affairs is now conducting individual preventive work. Article 17.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus for drinking alcoholic, low-alcohol beverages or beer provides for a fine of up to eight base units, for being at the workplace during working hours in a state of alcoholic intoxication, a fine of one to ten base units is provided, and for committing the specified offenses repeatedly within one year, liability is provided in the form of a fine of two to fifteen base units or administrative arrest (applied to persons aged 18 and over). For appearing in a public place in a state caused by the consumption without a doctor's prescription of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or the consumption of their analogues, toxic or other intoxicating substances, which offends human dignity and public morality, a fine of five to ten base units is provided, for being at the workplace during working hours in a state caused by the consumption without a doctor's prescription of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or the consumption of their analogues, toxic or other intoxicating substances, a fine of eight to twelve base units is provided, for the consumption without a doctor's prescription of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances in a public place or the consumption of their analogues in a public place, a fine of ten to fifteen base units is provided.

Forinvolvement of a minor in antisocial behaviour by purchasing alcoholic, low-alcohol beverages or beer for them, as well as other involvement by a person who has reached the age of eighteen, of a minor who is knowingly involved in the consumption of alcoholic, low-alcohol beverages or beer, or in the non-medical use of potent or other intoxicating substances, in accordance with Art. 17.4 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus, a fine of ten to thirty basic units is provided.

It should be noted that with the increase in daylight hours, adolescents under the age of 16 forget that they are prohibited by law from being in public places between 23:00 and 06:00 without the accompaniment of parents or their legal guardians. Upon detection of such facts, in accordance with Art. 17.13 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus, the legal representatives of adolescents are brought to administrative responsibility. For the past period of 2020, 5 such facts have already been identified, of which one legal representative has already been brought to administrative responsibility twice under the aforementioned article.

In accordance with Art. 17.13 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus, failure by parents or persons replacing them to fulfil their obligations to accompany a minor under sixteen years of age, or to ensure their accompaniment by an adult, during the period from twenty-three to six hours outside the dwelling, entails a warning or a fine of up to two basic units.

Annually, during the summer period, camps with day and round-the-clock stays for children operate on the basis of educational institutions in the Lepel district. This year, it is planned to operate 17 day camps and two camps with round-the-clock stays for children.

To prevent adolescents from committing offences during the summer, in May of the current year, all interested departments will study the employment of adolescents, where they plan to spend the summer, and will also provide assistance in directing adolescents to labour brigades, camps, and address the issue of their employment. Priority in this area will be given to minors with whom the IDN conducts individual preventive work, and much depends on the parents of adolescents, as who, if not they, should convince their children of the need for employment during the summer holidays.

Svidinskaya E.G.

District Inspector of the IDN

Lepel District Department of Internal Affairs

Police Captain