ABOUT BRIGHTER FUTURES
Preventing Youth Crime:
Unveiling Root Causes and Proactive Solutions
Organised criminal groups actively target, groom, and recruit young individuals, leading them from antisocial behaviour to increasingly severe levels of offending. As their criminal activities stigmatise and isolate young people from their communities, these gangs offer an alternative sense of belonging, pulling them deeper into their life of crime. Policing efforts typically focus on the latter stages of this spectrum—investigating, arresting, and prosecuting criminals to enforce the law. However, despite successful convictions of high-level gang leaders, new criminals quickly fill these voids.
Brighter Futures works by reducing the vulnerabilities that lead an individual to becoming involved in gangs and other criminal activity thereby reducing the supply of recruits into organised criminal gangs. The programme also increases individual and community resilience to protect them from serious organised crime. Brighter Futures builds on learnings from similar UK projects to develop a system suited to the Nigerian context. We work by identifying those most at risk of criminal involvement, then helping them to develop 'resilience pillars' which are skills that protect them from negative influences.
RESILIENCE pillars
Brighter Futures' identifies vulnerable young people and seeks to develop five ‘Resilience Pillars’ that will help protect them from becoming involved in crime. These pillars include:
a heightened sense of opportunity
STRONGER SOCIAL SUPPORT NETWORKS
INCREASED CRITICAL THINKING ABILITY
IMPROVED SELF-CONFIDENCE
healthier perceptions of masculinity
Crime Prevention Partnerships
At the core of Brighter Futures is a network of Crime Prevention Partnerships. These are community-led organisations comprising local leaders, government officials, and police officers at regional and district levels. These partnerships are able to pinpoint vulnerable groups and individuals, and devise targeted interventions based on local knowledge and insights. These interventions are then delivered through trusted, local community groups. This is because it is essential that the communities themselves spearhead efforts to forge and mend connections with those who are on the pathway to crime.
Sustainability
International development initiatives are most effective when acknowledged and supported by local stakeholders. Brighter Futures is earning recognition from various sectors of the Nigerian government, with the approach being integrated by numerous government departments. Notably, the Zamfara state government in Northwest Nigeria has independently funded the refurbishment of offices and allocated staff for the creation of a permanent Crime Prevention Partnership. Similarly, the local government in Bayelsa state has opted to expand the Crime Prevention Partnership model to additional areas without external funding. By delivering visible, impactful outcomes, the Brighter Futures project is advancing innovative governance and law enforcement strategies, thereby achieving significant crime reduction throughout Nigeria.
BUILT ON YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Understanding the Roots
of Criminal Pathways
To address the rising concern of youth involvement in serious criminal activities, UK police forces are shifting their focus towards understanding the root causes that lead young people down this perilous path. Academic research has been instrumental in identifying key factors associated with a higher risk of serious criminality, encompassing experiences such as exposure to domestic violence, sexual abuse, school absenteeism, dropout, and mental health issues. These adverse early-life experiences significantly heighten susceptibility to recruitment into organized gangs, necessitating a comprehensive strategy for intervention.
Proactive Support
Initiatives
Recognising the importance of preventing crime before it occurs, UK police forces, in collaboration with social welfare agencies, have embarked on proactive support initiatives aimed at those most vulnerable to recruitment. This preventive approach has been rigorously tested in the UK for over a decade and forms the core of the Brighter Futures methodology. By addressing the identified risk factors and providing targeted support, these initiatives strive to disrupt the pathways leading to serious criminal involvement. Importantly, the lessons learned from the UK experience are being actively implemented on the ground in Nigeria, adapting the proactive support framework to the local context.
Brighter Futures
Methodology in Action
The Brighter Futures methodology, inspired by the UK's successful crime prevention approach, is making significant strides in Nigeria. By understanding the complex interplay of factors that make young individuals susceptible to serious criminal activities, the methodology emphasises early intervention and support. Through collaboration between law enforcement and social welfare agencies, Brighter Futures is actively working to dismantle the recruitment pipelines of organised gangs. By adopting a preventive stance, this approach seeks not only to curb the immediate risks but also to cultivate a resilient and empowered generation, deterring them from the allure of serious crime.