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Safer Cities Programme: Making Cities Safer from Crime

• The Programme
• The Safer Cities Approach
• The Key Role of Local Authorities
• Safety as an Issue of Good Governance
• The Safer Cities Strategy
• The Safer Cities Methodology

The Programme

The Safer Cities Programme was launched in 1996 at the request of African mayors who wanted to address urban violence by developing a prevention strategy at the city level. The Programme supports the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, which acknowledges the responsibility of local authorities in crime prevention. The Programme is in line with the ECOSOC Resolution 1995/9 of 24 July 1995.>/p>

The Safer Cities Programme contributes to UN-HABITAT's Campaign on Urban Governance through the development of safety norms and tools, the dissemination of lessons learned, and through the implementation of operational activities.

The main objectives of the programme are to:

1. Build capacities at city level to adequately address urban insecurity: and thereby,
2. Contribute to the establishment of a culture of prevention

The Safer Cities Approach

Violence does not happen simultaneously. It grows out of an unequal and exclusive society, and out of lack of institutional and social control. An inadequate urban environment and exclusion encourage crime and violence. Moreover, the criminal justice system, including police, courts, and prisons, are poorly adapted to the rapidly changing urban environment, and are unable to respond to the concerns and needs of urban dwellers, particularly the poor. This situation leads to distrust, intolerance, and in some cases, violent reactions such as "mob justice" as a collective form of defense against petty crime. The criminal justice institutions alone cannot stop the escalation of urban violence or even control it. Public safety should be considered as a public good that must be developed and promoted by all institutions and civil society. International experience shows that reducing crime is everybody's responsibility.

The Key Role of Local Authorities

Cities have a primary role in coordinating the activities aimed at reducing crime. Local governments are the key actors in coalitions and in the development of community-wide planning strategies for crime prevention. The International Conferences on the theme of urban violence and safety held successively in Barcelona (1987), Montreal (1989), Paris (1991), Vancouver (1996), Johannesburg (1998), and Naples (2000) reaffirmed the role of local authorities as leaders of local partnerships. Mayors and city councilors are in strategic positions to initiate and coordinate local action and adequately address the social demand. A partnership between local governments and other stakeholders can enable prevention and ultimately eliminate violence, crime, and insecurity.

Safety as an Issue of Good Governance

Tackling crime and insecurity are issues of good urban governance. Successful experiences in urban crime prevention improve governance.

Good governance and safe cities are reciprocal: where inhabitants are free from fear, and where safety is improved for citizens and neighborhoods, interactin among people, among groups, and within the public institutions becomes possible. This, in turn, creates an enabling environment for the inhabitants in the city, for the quality of their life, and for economic development.

In addition, addressing urban crime and violence is an exercise in good governance if it involves the development of solidarity practices, city consultation processes, and institutional reform, which enhance citizenship and inclusion.

The Safer Cities Strategy

In line with the Habitat Agenda, and in collaboration with other United Nations agencies (UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCO), the Safer Cities Programme proved support to local authorities by:

• Strengthening their capacity to address urban safety issues and reduce delinquency, violence, and insecurity;
• Promote crime prevention initiatives, implemented in collaboration with central and local authorities, the criminal justice system, the private sector and civil society;
• Encouraging city networks in order to facilitate the exchange of expertise and good practices, and disseminating lessons learned in close collaboration with partners from the North and South;
• Preparing and implementing capacity-building programmes; and
• Targeting three main areas of prevention: actions aimed at groups at risk, situational prevention, and reform of the criminal justice system.

The Safer Cities Methodology

The Safer Cities Programme follows a structured process designed to nurture local crime prevention capacities:

1. Identification and mobilization of key partners at the local level who can contribute effectively to the reduction and prevention of crime;
2. Creation of a local safety coalition led by a public figure and supported by a technical coordinator, who ensures continuity and focuses on strategic objectives;
3. A rigorous assessment of the crime situation through a local safety appraisal based on institutional, informal, and social research data. The appraisal identifies, assesses, and prioritizes safety problems and policies, and aims to generate consensus among partners. If in-depth data are needed, scientific tools are available, such as victimization surveys, and women’s safety audits;
4. Formulation and development of a local strategy that includes a detailed plan of action, setting out the social, institutional, and situational measures to be taken;
5. Implementation of the local strategy through a range of short- and long-term initiatives, which address the causes, manifestations, and fears of crime; and
6. Institutionalization of the participatory local crime prevention approaches through the incorporation of safety as a cross-cutting dimension throughout the structures of local government and the criminal justice system. This could require institutional reform.