Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

Urban crime and violence: Conditions and trends
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• Poor areas provide customers, who, for economic
reasons, are willing to purchase second-hand and
questionable goods.
• Because there are willing customers, poor areas provide
places to sell secondhand and questionable goods.
• Markets for such goods encourage property offenders to
be active in poor areas.
• Proceeds from property offences are used in drug or
other illegal transactions.
• Such transactions fuel more serious crimes, such as
armed robbery and assaults. 211
Besides the effects on specific victims, high robbery and
violent crime rates affect cities by leaving some areas
desolate, especially in the evenings, thereby adversely affecting
the local economy. In communities, generally, but
especially in high crime risk areas, fear of violence discourages
pedestrians and reduces the attractiveness of public
spaces. As such, it has a cumulative effect by diminishing
surveillance possibilities, or ‘eyes on the street’, which
increases risks to offenders of being observed, caught, prosecuted
or, in informal systems, retaliated against. Although
there remains significant debate on its efficacy, depending
upon other circumstances, increased surveillance may
discourage street crime generally, including contact crimes
such as armed robbery.
■ Impacts of burglary
Although often committed against vehicles, burglary is the
most common property crime connected to the built environment.
High burglary rates have implications for
neighbourhoods, cities and nations. Commercial and residential
properties are frequent targets for burglaries, and data
shows that, on average, one out of five urban residents worldwide
report being victimized within a five-year period. 212
Burglaries have significant direct and indirect consequences
for victims, especially where there are no indemnification
systems and where victims suffer significant long-term
psychological effects. In one study, nearly 40 per cent of
burglary victims stated that they had been very much
affected and 68 per cent indicated that they felt angry as a
result of burglaries and attempted burglaries. Shock, fear and
difficulty in sleeping were also fairly common experiences of
burglary victims. 213 The enduring psychological effects of
burglary on its victims are just as severe as the effects related
to violent crimes, such as assault and robbery.
Evidence suggests that burglars target properties that
are expected to yield loot with the highest market value and
some neighbourhoods become known for burglary incidents,
which may depress property values, although this relationship
is quite complicated. Some research has shown that
other property crimes, such as criminal damage to buildings
in the form of vandalism, graffiti and arson, have a larger
negative impact on property values than burglary insomuch
as they are overt indicators of community deterioration that
generate fear and drive off investment. 214
One manifestation of the failure of public agencies to
adequately address the fear and incidence of serious
property and contact crimes, such as burglary and robbery, is
the global explosion of privatized gated areas and private
security forces. Many cities in developing countries have
witnessed the proliferation of private security as a means of
safeguarding residences and commercial enterprises. In
Caracas, 73 per cent of the population have private security
for their homes, while 39 per cent made contributions in
terms of money and time to community and neighbourhood
watch initiatives designed to reduce crime. 215 In South
Africa, the number of private security guards has increased
by 150 per cent since 1997, while the number of police
officials has declined by 2.2 per cent during the same
period. 216 In Kenya, the private security industry is one of
the fastest growing businesses. 217 The proliferation of
private security firms in Kenya coincides with the upsurge in
crime, particularly in Nairobi during the mid 1980s. Prior to
then, private security firms were a rarity. It is important to
note that the use of private security in cities of developing
countries is no longer the sole preserve of wealthy households:
it is becoming increasingly common in informal and
low-income settlements where crime is widespread.
Characterized as a ‘common interest’ approach to
security, guarded and gated communities are found in developed
nations such as the US, where they are prevalent
across the south, southwest and west, 218 and in the UK,
where they are growing at a significant pace in the London
Metropolitan area and in the southeast of England. 219 They
are also increasingly found in transitional and developing
nations. Indeed, the high rates of violent crimes and the fear
of crime are important in explaining the emergence of gated
communities in Latin American and Caribbean cities. 220
While security concerns have been advanced as a primary
rationale for their increase, they are certainly not the sole
reasons. Prestige, lifestyle choice, perceived urban service
delivery advantages (including better policing), as well as
increased land and home values, are also identified as factors
contributing to their growth, depending upon local
contexts. 221
Definitions of gated communities vary widely, but
they tend to share the following functional characteristics:
separation from neighbouring land by fences, walls, or by
other constructed or natural obstructions, including
symbolic barriers; filtered entry using mechanical,
electronic or human guardianship as access-control
elements; and, generally, privatized internal gathering areas
and circulation systems, which may include roads, sidewalks
and footpaths.
As noted, a primary rationale for gated and guarded
communities is enhanced security, and some studies
suggests that gating has limited short-term benefits in reducing
specific crimes. 222 But research also indicates that the
effects of gating tend to decay over time as offenders adapt
and as environmental and social conditions change. 223 More
significant impacts of gating are seen in the real and potential
spatial and social fragmentation of cities, leading to the
diminished use and availability of public space and increased
socio-economic polarization. In this context, gating has been
characterized as having counterintuitive impacts, even
increasing crime and the fear of crime as the middle classes
abandon public streets to the vulnerable poor, to street
One manifestation
of the failure of
public agencies to
adequately address
the fear and
incidence of serious
property and contact
crimes… is the
global explosion of
privatized gated
areas and private
security forces