Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

Urban crime and violence: Policy responses
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Box 4.1 The Safer Nairobi Initiative
The strategy involves a two-year action plan based upon four
pillars:
• better enforcement of existing laws and by-laws;
• improvement of urban design and the environment;
• community empowerment; and
• socially oriented measures providing support for groups at
risk, including children, youth, women and street families.
The major elements of the strategy are:
• the adoption and implementation of a local safety action plan;
• local diagnoses of insecurity, involving a crime victimization
study, youth offender profiling and a study of violence against
women;
• extensive discussion of survey findings with stakeholders
groups, including communities, the private sector, women
groups;
• a city-wide residents convention held in 2003 that approved
the city-wide crime prevention strategy, later endorsed by the
City Council;
• the establishment of an interdepartmental committee on
safety and security within the city council under the auspices
of the mayor;
• safety audits conducted in key locations;
• launch of a Safer Spaces and Streets Campaign with two pilot
projects;
• publication of a quarterly newsletter on city safety and
security;
• establishment of a local coordinating team and office;
• progressive development of action-oriented partnerships;
• broad-based stakeholder consultations and reviews;
• training and exchange visits; and
• lighting up of Nairobi’s slums and streets.
It is still too early to draw overall conclusions on the success of the
programme since it is trying to combat what are, in some cases,
quite long-term trends and since it is seeking not merely to undertake
specific projects targeted at specific problems, but also to
change the ways in which crime and public safety issues are tackled
in Nairobi. But what is already clear is that there have been some
specific successes – for example, the programme of lighting
Nairobi’s streets and slums is seen as a success both in aesthetic
terms and in addressing some of the people’s fear of crime and
violence. In addition, the problems of youth-related crime (including
its street-life elements) are not only better understood, but are
also being tackled through a longer-term strategy.
Source: Masese, 2007
Safer Cities programmes in individual cities have been developed
within a democratic framework in the fight against
crime based on three principles: law enforcement for all,
solidarity and crime prevention. This has tended to proceed
through a six-step approach, as follows:
1 diagnosis of problems;
2 mobilization and building of a coalition of partners;
3 developing a crime prevention strategy;
4 developing and implementing an action plan;
5 mainstreaming and institutionalizing the approach; and
6 continuous monitoring and evaluation.
The experience of Nairobi (Kenya) with the Safer Cities
Programme has been captured in one of the case studies for
this <strong>Global</strong> <strong>Report</strong>, and the main elements of the Safer
Nairobi Initiative are summarized in Box 4.1.
The Safer Cities Programme is an example of an international
initiative that is locally applied, and which is
essentially about improved local governance, as opposed to
just local government, and which includes local capacitybuilding
and providing a framework within which the ability
of local communities to tackle their own problems is
improved over time. It is also about the establishment of a
culture of prevention so that key issues are identified and
tackled through activities that engage a wide range of key
partners and local residents. In other words, its focus is not
just on immediate problems, but is also on the longer term.
UN-Habitat provides an integrated model, a relevant knowledge
resource, much encouragement, some resources and
access to a range of contacts willing and able to help; but the
main task is addressed locally in the light of local conditions
and aspirations. The approach itself appears to be robust in
terms of both the basic structure that it offers and the strategic
approach to problems of crime and violence that it
advocates. The main issues in terms of its success are likely
to be more local ones, around resources, people and commitment
to the long haul. It can also be seen as offering
something positive where previously very little seemed to be
available to many cities to help them tackle problems of
crime and violence.
It is important to stress that the Safer Cities
Programme is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to the
problems of urban crime, and that many cities in the world
have made progress in tackling crime and violence using a
similar approach but outside the realm of the UN-Habitat
Safer Cities Programme. Indeed, the number of cities
participating in the UN-Habitat Safer Programme today is
very small in comparison with those that have or are
seeking to address these issues in other ways. One of the
key characteristics of the Safer Cities Programme is that it
encourages documentation, evaluation and reporting of
what is being done so that there is an evidence base in
relation to these activities – which is often lacking in
similar programmes and projects.
Although mainly concerned with local impacts of
crime prevention and capacity development, the Safer
Cities Programme maintains a global outlook, as it supports
global and regional debate and exchange of experiences and
the development of policy guidance and generic reference
It is important to
stress that the Safer
Cities Programme is
not a ‘one-size-fitsall’
solution to the
problems of urban
crime