The Greentown Intervention Programme was funded for an initial three-year period by the Department of Justice and is being trialled in two anonymised areas – Whitetown and Yellowtown. The trials bring together frontline agencies, practitioners, and researchers to implement and (risk) manage a multifaceted programme response. 

The Greentown Programme is aimed at developing new effective responses to the problem of children’s engagement with local criminal networks in Ireland. Prior to the commissioning of the Greentown Programme, a deliberative design process was employed, involving international academics researching illicit networks, policymakers, State agencies and community-based organisations.

Four interdependent pillars were identified to meaningfully respond to the problems presented by criminal networks in Ireland: Network Disruption, Pro-social Opportunities, Community Efficacy and an Intensive Family Programme. 

The two programme goals are to a) reduce criminal network effects on children in the local community by frustrating grooming behaviour of network-based adults to entice children into criminal activity, and b) providing meaningful and practical routes out for children already embedded in a criminal network.