The Greentown Project

The Greentown Programme

The Greentown Programme aims to reduce the influence of criminal networks on child offending and improve pro-social outcomes for children involved in criminal networks.  The Programme is being trialled in two anonymous locations in Ireland since 2021 - referred to as Whitetown and Yellowtown. 

The Greentown programme operates under four pillars: Intensive Family Support, Pro-social Opportunities, Community Efficacy, and Network Disruption. The trial locations bring together frontline agencies, practitioners, and researchers to implement and (risk) manage a multifaceted programme response. The implementation of Greentown Programme is currently being evaluated to examine whether it reduces the influence of crime networks on children and facilitates access to pro-social opportunities for those affected.

The Greentown Programme was developed through the Greentown Programme Design Project. This involved a deliberate programme-building process and incorporated problem definition, solution identification, and detailed programme design.  It involved a range of national and international experts with extensive experience in the areas of youth offending, social network analysis, law enforcement, child welfare, governance, research and evaluation, and policy and programme design. 

The Original Greentown Project

Using a case study design, this study first identified and then examined the behaviour of a criminal network operating in a Garda Sub-District in Ireland in 2010–2011.

For the purposes of the study, the Garda Sub-District, which is located outside of Dublin, has been given the pseudonym Greentown. In order to facilitate this examination, Garda analysts constructed a network map for the study using incident data to position 31 individuals aged 11–36 years who had been involved in either burglary or drugs for sale and supply in Greentown in 2010– 2011.

Importantly, the map indicated relationships where two or more individuals were involved in the same offence. The map was used as the key reference tool to interview Greentown Gardaí about the activities and contexts of the individuals identified.

The study found that the criminal network which existed in Greentown in 2010–2011 was hierarchical in nature and was governed by a family and kinship-based ‘core’. The hierarchical structure was supported by a deeply embedded sympathetic culture in the area, as well as powerful ongoing processes – in particular, patronage-based relationships which shared the rewards of crime among associates but also generated onerous debt obligations.

It was also found that the power and influence of the network is most influenced by the intensity of the relationships between individual members of the network and the network patrons, but geographical proximity between them also plays a role.

The overall key finding of the study was that criminal networks play a significant role in encouraging and compelling children to engage in criminal behaviour. The study identified potential applications for the methods used in the project to progress further research on serious youth crime, and outlined some implications for youth crime related policy.

National Prevalence Survey 

This follow-up study to the original Greentown study involving a national survey of Garda Juvenile Liaison Officers indicates evidence that the profile of children involved in serious crime (as identified in the original Greentown report) are present more widely throughout Ireland.

Importantly, the youth crime problems identified in the Greentown report in 2015 are not only confined to large urban areas. Similar to the original Greentown study, the survey findings also suggest that some children are being groomed into crime by predatory adults.  While relatively small in number, this pattern has emerged across the country. 

Redtown & Bluetown 

Redtown and Bluetown were two replication studies that examined if the methodology used in the original Greentown study worked in additional areas. It also examined if local criminal networks contribute to young people’s more serious and persistent offending patterns