Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

106
Urban crime and violence
The most important
policy trend… has
been the move away
from the idea that
crime prevention
and tackling
violence are essentially
matters for the
police and the
criminal justice
system, and towards
the idea that these
are complex
phenomena which
require broad-based
responses
programme, supported by a broad strategy and based on an
understanding of the local context. Partnerships offer a
vehicle for undertaking tasks of this nature and for agreeing
on the outcomes of these processes, including tapping into
the knowledge and understanding of partners at the appropriate
times. These reasons show why both as a mechanism
and as a process, partnerships have become so common in
this field.
There are, however, some important cautionary
words that are necessary, not least because partnership is in
the same class as community when it comes to concepts that
are seen in some quarters as being the equivalent of magic
dust. In reality, the theoretical virtues of the partnership
approach will only materialize if the partnership works effectively,
which, among other things, requires a significant
commitment of resources by partners. Partnerships can also
be exclusive, as well as inclusive: who is not there can be as
significant in determining outcomes as who is there, and can
often be a controversial issue in a locality. Indeed, achieving
a proper level of representation around the partnership table
can be a real challenge in its own right, not least because
there may well be very different views about what ‘proper’
means in relation to particular sectors or organizations.
The workings of partnerships can also be difficult to
understand from the outside, especially if their communication
processes are not very effective and their procedures
are complex, bureaucratic and difficult for potential participants
to follow. Partnerships run the risk of being too cosy in
the sense that a relatively small group of people can agree
things among themselves without taking account of much
wider community views and wishes. Partnerships also need
to have an action focus so that they avoid the danger of drifting
into becoming mere talking shops that actually do very
little. Finally, it is important that a sensible balance is struck
between the importance of the leadership role and the
absence of the domination that sometimes comes with this.
Effective partnerships need good leadership; but partnerships
should never become merely a rubber stamp for the
views of whoever is in the leading role. These are just some
of the dangers that exist in relation to partnerships and,
indeed, some of the things that some critics have said about
them. 89 There are many examples of partnerships of all kinds,
some of which are good and some of which are not.
However, the potential advantages of partnership are very
real. Indeed, it is difficult to think of other mechanisms that
have the same potential. But it is equally clear that partnership
is not a magic formula. It is something that has to be
worked at in particular circumstances.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Inevitably, a discussion of emerging policy trends across as
diverse a set of policy responses to crime and violence as
reviewed in this chapter involves being selective.
Nevertheless, there do appear to be some significant policy
trends that are visible. This section discusses what may be
the most notable.
The most important policy trend in the field over the
past two decades or so has been the move away from the
idea that crime prevention and tackling violence are essentially
matters for the police and the criminal justice system,
and towards the idea that these are complex phenomena
which require broad-based responses. The emergence of
urban crime prevention as a specific concern of urban policy
and urban actors is an indication of such shift. As a result,
the range of policy responses described in this chapter has
become more commonplace, with, to some extent, each of
them seeing significant development as the search for
solutions has broadened. This does not imply that the roles
of the police and the criminal justice system have become
unimportant, or that developments have been mainly in
other areas rather than in these. Instead, the historic
reliance on a limited number of areas has been replaced by a
more broad-based range of responses that recognize the
need to find other ways of addressing crime and violence.
Four of these areas, in particular, seem to have attracted
interest, although the nature and the intensity of this have
varied across the world.
First is the idea that through the manipulation of the
physical environment it is possible to reduce the opportunity
for certain kinds of crimes to be committed. This recognizes
the point made in Chapter 3 that the physical environment
poses risks of crime and violence and that, as a consequence,
the where of crime is an important issue which, until
recently, was often neglected. There is now an understanding
that it is possible to make a difference to the opportunity
for crimes such as burglary to be committed by design
choices, and that it is possible to make a difference to
people’s feelings about the safety of the environment in
which they move around through similar processes. 90 In
particular, much attention has been paid to the residential
environment, 91 which is important since housing is by far
the most extensive urban land use. This interest has been
extended in some areas to an exploration of the role of the
planning system through its control of development in
addressing these aspects of crime prevention. 92
The second of the policy responses is the idea that
approaches need to be more community based. The broad
reasons for this have been discussed. It seems to be the case
that this means different things in different parts of the
world, and it is an area of considerable controversy since
many practices that are claimed as being community based
would not be in other areas. There is still considerable scope
for further development of this area and for the development,
in particular, of a better understanding of what
community involvement means. Interestingly, as is demonstrated
in the Hong Kong case study, 93 these issues have also
affected discussions about appropriate policing strategies,
with the process of moving in the direction of community
policing taking place over a period of 40 years and being
influenced by the major change in 1997 when Hong Kong
was returned to China.
The third area relates to the focus on particular
groups in society that are either vulnerable to, or perpetrators
of, most crimes. This has been a key feature of many
UN-Habitat Safer Cities programmes, where the focus has
been on women at risk of violence and on young people,