Crime prevention approaches, online and off-line, tackling the nexus between addictions and crime

¿De qué trata esta convocatoria?

The topic funds research and tools on how addictions drive crime, with training and collaboration between police and civil society, focused on young people at risk. Projects are expected to reach technology readiness level 5.

¿Qué financia esta convocatoria?

Scope

Addictions such as gambling, drug and alcohol use are closely linked to crime: offenders are often under the influence while committing crimes, and gamblers and drug users may commit crimes to pay debts or buy drugs. Successful proposals should analyse the specific nexus between addiction and crime, offline and online, and develop modern methods and tools to prevent both addiction and related crime, while respecting the fundamental rights of the communities concerned and using non-stigmatising language.

What proposals should address

• Novel collaboration between community stakeholders, including police authorities, civil society, national and local bodies, private actors and trained psychologists, to increase communities' resilience to addiction and their security and safety.
• Emphasis on young people at risk, the criminal justice system, drivers of criminality and the pathways from petty crime driven by addiction to organised crime.
• A combination of social research with technological development, with social sciences and humanities expertise, and a gender-sensitive approach to understand how addiction, crime and gender relate and to meet the needs of men, women and marginalised groups.
• Plans for uptake and upscaling at national and EU level, building on previous research without duplicating it, and coordination among successful proposals.

Projects are expected to say how they would engage with the European Union Drugs Agency during the project, including to validate outcomes, and to cooperate with CEPOL on police training provided it opts out of applying for funding. Proposals should address the applicable considerations in the introduction to the Fighting Crime and Terrorism destination. Activities are expected to reach technology readiness level 5 by the end of the project.

Expected outcomes

Contributions to some or all of: better understanding of the links between addictions and crime and the drivers of criminality; innovative solutions and training curricula for police and civil society to prevent addictions and related crimes, with special attention to young people at risk; evidence to modernise the criminal justice approach to addiction-related offences; and new forms of collaboration between police and civil society that raise community resilience, security and safety.

¿Cuándo termina el plazo?

5 de noviembre de 2026

5 November 2026.