Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

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Towards safer and more secure cities
One of the most
apparent trends in
the response to
crime and violence
has been the move
from sole reliance
on the police and
the judiciary to the
development of
more broadly based
approaches
initiatives. However, there are few examples of this since the
resources available for community safety initiatives are
usually small in relation to the scale of the problem. What is
important even when organizations that control funding are
not prepared to take an open-ended view of communitybased
initiatives is that they should be willing to listen to
ideas that come from the community sources.
Strengthening formal criminal justice and
policing
Although one of the most apparent trends in the response to
crime and violence has been the move from sole reliance on
the police and the judiciary to the development of more
broadly based approaches, this does not detract from the
importance of measures to strengthen the formal criminal
justice and policing systems in societies where these can be
seen as part of the problem. The move towards more broadly
based approaches should not be seen as diminishing the
importance of the police and the judiciary, but rather as an
acknowledgement of the fact that the struggle against crime
and violence needs to encompass an ever broader range of
approaches. What is important is that these more ‘traditional’
elements are seen as integral to contemporary
comprehensive approaches, rather than as elements standing
outside them.
■ An example of a changing police culture:
Hong Kong
An interesting illustration of the interdependent nature of
these phenomena is provided by the move of the Hong Kong
police towards a more community focus for its work, and the
development of a community service culture (see Box 4.8 in
Chapter 4). Here, the debates about the nature and role of
community policing approaches, which had been going on
vigorously in police forces across the world over this
period, 15 were overlain by major political changes away from
a colonialist governmental legacy and towards reintegration
with China, which, in turn, recognized that Hong Kong was
in some important ways different from the rest of the
country.
What was also clear during this process of change was
that it did not always take place in a linear or orderly manner.
It included significant stages where public responses to what
had been done previously shaped events, and where the ebb
and flow of ideas were influenced by the views of key
personalities at various points in time. It was also a process
that took place over a long period. Clearly, there are
elements of this story that are particular to the circumstances
of Hong Kong; but there are also aspects that offer
useful lessons elsewhere about the dynamics of a process of
this nature. In particular, this case study illustrates the
importance of a process of winning hearts and minds, both
within the police service and among the communities for
whom it works. This can be among the most difficult and
protracted elements of a change process of this nature. But it
is vital if the case for change is to be properly developed and
then put into effective practice.
■ Resistance and the inability to change in
police and justice systems
One of the most important reasons why changes to police
and criminal justice systems need to be an integral part of
comprehensive attempts to address crime and violence is
because diagnoses of the problems to be faced have often
concluded that the operation, in practice, has added to the
difficulties. Three paragraphs from the UN-Habitat review of
its experiences of Safer Cities projects in Africa summarize
this well:
Police have traditionally placed more emphasis
on major crime at the expense of unrelenting
community problems and conflicts. Police are
often opposed to the introduction of reforms
due to cultural resistance to change, inadequate
training offered to its agents and a lack of transparency.
The justice system is also being
questioned in view of its inability to deal effectively
with urban delinquency. The helplessness
in dealing with files efficiently, the lack of
resources, in some cases a lack of transparency,
the myriad of laws that are impossible to implement,
and the lack of alternative solutions all
account for the inefficiency within the justice
system. In Africa, the number of prisoners
awaiting trial is twice as high as the number of
accused. This number is equal in Latin America
and much lower in other regions. This illustrates
the slow pace and the lack of efficiency in
the justice system.
Prisons, with the exception of a few
modern and experimental ones, can be considered
schools for technical training and network
development for delinquents. 16 The worldwide
rate of recidivism exceeds 60 per cent. But
despite evidence that the restorative function of
prison fails, they maintain a symbolic value in
the minds of many which renders it an easy
solution and clear response, as demonstrated in
Africa where the rate of incarceration is similar
to Latin America but higher than in other
regions in the world. 17
Not surprisingly, given this diagnosis, an important component
of Safer Cities projects in African cities has been
attempts to address such problems. Box 10.3 summarizes
the various actions that have been undertaken in this regard.
■ The importance of public confidence in
police and justice systems
As well as the direct benefits that flow from the specific
actions summarized in Box 10.3, the public at large also feels
confident that the police and the criminal justice systems
will do their jobs properly so that their contribution to public
safety will be effective. There is clear evidence from the case
studies for this <strong>Global</strong> <strong>Report</strong> that this is not always the case.