An Initiative Under the Individual National Crime Surveys by Human Police Policing Human Pty Ltd This project is a collaborative research initiative between the Founder and youth participants, who operate under mentorship as Citizen Researchers. A Citizen Researcher is an actively engaged member of the public who contributes to the research process without needing formal academic qualifications. Their key roles include: (a) Collecting, observing, and sharing insights from their communities to produce real-world data and elevate lived experiences in understanding crime. (b) Developing short research questions informed by their personal and community experiences, based on the themes provided. Main Research Theme: What’s Distorting the Future? Unpacking the Hidden Threats Facing South African Youth Today This central theme is divided into four sub-themes. Each Citizen Researcher selects one sub-theme to formulate a research question that aligns with their lived experience and community observations: 1. Youth and Gender-Based Violence 2. AI and Digital Crime 3. The School-to-Crime Pipeline 4. Substance Abuse and Psychoactive Trends These research questions guide the data collection process for each sub-theme and will contribute to a comprehensive report of findings. Citizen Researchers are equipped with resource materials, including project guidelines and a list of relevant South African legislation for each sub-theme. The project is currently underway.