Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

Part II of the <strong>Global</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on Human Settlements analyses
the global conditions and trends of urban crime and
violence, and examines policy responses designed to reduce
the incidence and impacts of crime and violence. In particular,
Chapter 3 assesses global trends in the incidence of
urban crime and violence by type, the factors that determine
levels of vulnerability to crime and violence, and the impacts
of urban crime and violence. Chapter 4 identifies the range
of policy responses at the local, national and international
levels designed to tackle urban crime and violence.
Crime and violence are fundamental threats to human
security and safety from crime, and violence – including the
resulting fear and insecurity – is increasingly being acknowledged
internationally as a public good, as well as a basic
human right. Although found in virtually all cities across the
world, most places are safe and most citizens are neither
perpetrators nor victims of crime and violence. Rather, crime
tends to be concentrated in certain parts of the city and in
neighbourhoods that are known to the police and citizens.
Fear of crime, whether linked to these specific ‘hotspots’ or
more general in nature is often exacerbated by the media
and may spread quickly as information is communicated by
cell phones, email and through the internet.
As shown in this part of the report, global crime
incidence has steadily increased over the 1980–2000 period,
rising about 30 per cent, from 2300 to over 3000 crimes per
100,000 inhabitants. However, crime incident rates have
fallen significantly in some regions, such as North America.
This is in contrast to Latin America and the Caribbean,
where crime incidence rose during this period, reflecting, in
part, political transitions from autocracy to democracy and
localized civil conflicts. <strong>Global</strong>ly, there is little indication that
crime rates will decrease in the near future.
Homicide, a significant type of violent crime, is
discussed in detail in this part of the report. Homicide rates
for cities are extremely variable, with Asian cities demonstrating
generally low rates compared to cities in Africa,
Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and North
America. Interpersonal violence is widespread, with women
and children being the main victims. While the private
setting of the home is often the venue for child abuse and
interpersonal violence, many victims experience these
crimes at public institutions such as schools, hospitals or in
other public facilities.
Another type of crime examined is organized crime,
which is often linked to corruption. It is estimated to
account for US$1 billion in illicit capital that is circulated
daily by criminal groups among the world’s financial institutions.
Findings show comparatively high levels of perceived
organized crime in Africa, Central Asia, and Latin America
and the Caribbean, while low levels are reported for Canada,
Australia and Northern Europe. Drug, arms and human
trafficking are among the principal activities of organized
crime. Women and girls are especially vulnerable to human
trafficking. It is estimated that between 700,000 and 1
million persons are trafficked around the world each year.
Human traffickers often exploit children and young, uneducated
and unemployed women from rural areas. The
prevalence of as many as 100 million street children in cities
around the world is also associated with drug and human
trafficking, along with interpersonal violence, child abuse
and poverty, among other factors. Youth gang membership is
also estimated to be in the millions worldwide, with institutionalized
youth gangs concentrated in cities that have high
violence rates.
With respect to the factors underlying crime and
violence, which are examined at length in this part of the
report, informal social, cultural and religious values are
generally more powerful motivators or constraints than
formal legal rules or regulations. Poverty has long been
recognized as an important factor associated with
increased crime and violence. While crime may be seen as a
survival alternative in the face of grinding poverty, there
are poor communities where crime levels are low because
behaviour is constrained by informal social and cultural
values. Inequality may be a more important underlying
factor in the perpetration of crime and violence than
poverty per se.
An important issue explored in this part of the report
is the relationship between city size, density and crime
incidence. The rapid pace of urbanization in many developing
countries, and the resulting increase in city size and
density, is associated with increased crime and violence.
Poor urban planning, design and management have increasingly
been cited as playing a role in the shaping of urban
environments that put citizens and property at risk. Thus,
the physical fabric and layout of cities have a bearing on the
routine movements of offenders and victims and on opportunities
for crime. In response, a number of crime prevention
strategies through environmental design have emerged,
especially in developed countries.
The proportion and growth of youthful populations
have long been connected with increased crime and violence
rates. Unemployment is a fundamental risk factor related to