Crime watch is a long-running and high-profile British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes with a view to gaining information from the members of the public. The programme is usually broadcast once a month on BBC one. It was announced on 15 October 2008, that the BBC is to move the filming of shows such as Crimewatch to studios in Cardiff.

The show was first broadcast on 7 June 1984, and is based on the German TV show Aktenzeichen XY…ungelost (which translates as File XY... Unsolved). Nick Ross and Sue Cook first presented it. When Cook left in 1995, she was replaced by JillDando. After Dando's murder in April 1999, Fiona Bruce took over.

In over 25 years, 57 murderers, 53 rapists and sex offenders and 18 paedophiles have been caught as a direct result of Crime Watch appeals. Youth Crime Watch The Gambia has also been striving in the country for long time now, trying to track down the rate of crime in the country, particularly on the area of young people.

The organisation, last Saturday concluded its 1st National Youth Crime Prevention Conference, which was conducted at the TANGO building. The theme of the conference was ‘Crime prevention through youth empowerment’,and was sponsored by the United States Embassy in Banjul. The three-day workshop brought together participants from various youth groups in the country and thirty members of The Gambia Police Force.

“Statistics has shown that over 65% of crimes, civil unrest, Internet fraud, scam, cyber crime, drug trafficking, terrorism and militancy are perpetrated by world’s citizens, which could be classified as caused by youth,” says Ibrahim Ceesay, chairperson of the Youth Crime Watch board of directors. He said the conference will help them to channel out a way from negative to positive innovation and create initiatives for them that will provoke social andeconomic development of The Gambia”.

He outlined lack of community policing as a cause to existence of conducive environment to criminal activities, which also give birth to unsafe communities. To address the problem of crimes, he went on, a development approach to crime prevention is key to creating a safer and crime-free communities. “Crime and violence affect all sectors, all groups and every individual in society; either directly or indirectly,” Ceesay noted.

Abdul Jobe, director of Youth Crime Watch The Gambia, noted that young people should stand up to challenge crime in all aspects, saying the conference will create an opportunity for them to share ideas, build networks and network with the police department. “The Police and youth leaders should set up a committee to look into the issue of crime in our country,” he proposed.

The executive secretary of the National Youth Council, Marcel Mendy observed that peace has always been man’s highest value, positing that the most unjust peace is better than the most just war, noting that he would prefer a most unjust peace to a just war.

Ebrima Fofona, security adviser at the United States Embassy noted that world population is dominated by people between the ages of ten to twenty four years old and that over eighty percent live in developing countries. “Africa is a continent of young people whose demographic structure demands a socio-political transformation,” he said.

According to Fofana, youths play a crucial role in the society.Hence they are the future leaders, he observed, they need a greater protection and counselling. The issue of drug abuse, violence and crimes, he said should be of utmost concern for every Gambian.