Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

Urban crime and violence: Policy responses
103
nature in Kingston (Jamaica), where in the Grants Pen area
the creation of a peace park has provided recreational opportunities
for young people that were previously absent and
contributed to a lowering of the murder rate in the area. 74 In
the long term, such strategies offer the possibility that
individuals who benefit from them will contribute more fully
and effectively towards the development of their community
and society than would otherwise have been the case, thus
becoming much less of a burden on overstretched police and
criminal justice systems.
One of the major problems in this area is the extent
to which young people see criminals as role models and thus
seek to emulate them. For example, a study of a poor
community in Managua 75 has argued that the most ostentatiously
wealthy people in that community (as reflected in the
quality of their houses, clothes and cars) are those involved
in drug trafficking. 76 Under these circumstances, it is not
wholly surprising that some young people see this as
something to be aspired to. This is particularly the case when
it is associated with a culture where the macho-type behaviour
often exhibited by such people is seen as evidence of
their significance in the community. This is apparently the
case in many Latin American cities, where attitudes of this
nature help to encourage the recruitment of child soldiers to
gangs at a relatively young age. 77
From the policy perspective, the problem of youth
crime underscores two points. First, the problem of disaffected
young people who see themselves as being largely
outside the formal economy and who turn to crime and
violence in preference to the other alternatives can rank
among the most intractable issues that national and city
authorities have to contend with. Second, the response to
problems of this nature goes beyond a concern with crime
and violence – a holistic perspective is necessary. The establishment
of good governance, with comprehensive national
and urban policies that pay specific attention to the needs of
children and youth, is essential. It is likely that encouraging
participation in economic activity will constitute a large part
of this kind of response, with job-related training and experience
being made available and major efforts being made to
ensure that beneficiaries are able to move into employment.
The response will also involve investing in alternative activities
such as sporting and cultural activities. But it will also
need to offer to young people a vision of what life as a
member of the community can be like, a vision that is able to
compete successfully with what other visions can offer to
them. Finally, it is important to realize the potential of the
youth themselves, and to engage their participation in the
development of appropriate responses and solutions. All of
these are likely to be challenging and to require significant
inputs of resources over significant periods of time.
Non-violent resolution of conflicts
The non-violent resolution of conflicts is perhaps more of an
approach to issues based upon a particular moral philosophy
78 than a specific policy response to crime and violence.
It, however, deserves a short discussion given its potential to
contribute to the range of ways of thinking about what can
Box 4.9 The role of the women’s safety audit in Durban
(eThekwini), South Africa
The inspiration for undertaking a women’s safety audit in Durban came from the discussion of
best practice in this area at the first International Women Seminar held in Montreal in 2002.
The pilot project was conducted in KwaMakutha, a peri-urban area experiencing both high
levels of social crime and unemployment. The process entailed going out and identifying
problems on site, as well as a needs assessment and a strategic planning workshop undertaken
with service providers. The key environmental factors that were taken into account in this
process were lighting, signage, isolation, movement predictors, entrapment sites, escape routes,
maintenance and overall design. Since the pilot project was undertaken, this process has been
extended to other parts of the city as part of Durban’s partnership approach to tackling rising
levels of crime and violence. Although this approach has not eradicated crime, it has managed
to contain it in comparison with previous experiences.
The key challenges that the auditing process faced included getting local authorities to
buy into it; establishing and developing the necessary relationship between local authorities and
local communities; and effective implementation. This latter point was seen to be particularly
significant. This is because of the risk of disillusion and eventual apathy on the part of the
community if nothing happened after all the effort that had been expended in the process.
Much of the action that was identified in specific localities involved applying the principles of
CPTED, and thus one of the important tasks was the need to train city employees who would
need to be involved in the implementation of the principles of CPTED.
Source: Zambuko and Edwards, 2007
be very difficult problems. 79 This idea can also be linked
with the earlier discussion on restorative justice since
elements of that approach which emphasize involving
families of both perpetrators and victims seeking solutions
also highlight non-violent methods of resolving difficulties.
Put simply, this approach is about achieving results by means
other than violence. It has been extensively used as a philosophical
idea by the labour, peace, environmental and
women’s movements. It has also been extensively employed
in political actions, especially against repressive regimes in
several parts of the world. It is also an important philosophy
in relation to education, where conflict resolution education
is part of the curriculum in many schools and where conflict
resolution techniques are applied to the resolution of many
of the difficulties experienced by pupils. 80
The avoidance of violence in schools is an important
issue in its own right, not least because of its potential for
inculcating appropriate habits among young people, but also
because it is central to the effective functioning of the
school itself and to the quality of the educational experience
that it offers its pupils. 81 In this sense, this concept of nonviolent
approaches to conflict resolution also relates to the
discussion of tackling youth crime, where school experiences
can be of vital importance.
There appear to be four broad approaches to conflict
resolution education, the last two of which will be taken
together because, in principle, they are very similar:
• Process curriculum: this is where educators teach the
principles and processes of conflict resolution as a
distinct lesson or course.
• Peer mediation: this is where trained youth mediators
work with their peers to find resolutions to conflicts. It
It is important to
realize the potential
of the youth
themselves, and
to engage their
participation in the
development of
appropriate
responses and
solutions