Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

50
Urban crime and violence
Formal and informal
institutions play
important roles in
mediating or
exacerbating the
impacts of crime
and violence
Crime is
fundamentally
defined as an
antisocial act that
violates a law and
for which a
punishment can be
imposed by the
state or in the
state’s name
globalization’ 4 – have helped to nurture shadow economies
in many nations and cities. It is ironic, but not unpredictable,
that media portrayals of this sector have never stoked the
same level of fear that it has about terrorism, which is far
less pervasive and arguably less serious than either common
or organized crime.
Since the media is the key vehicle of globalized fears,
it also has an important role in the construction of the
perceptions of local insecurities, in terms of issues that are
highlighted and the way actors are depicted. Cultures of
violence do permeate many media reports, and impact on
the way violence against women or police brutality or youth
gangs are understood in society. The importance of understanding
and considering fear in analysing impacts and
responses to crime and violence has to be acknowledged, as
it points to the need to address not only crime and violence
as phenomena, but also the sentiments of fear and insecurity
in a broader sense.
International legal frameworks and trends
The discussion in this chapter is also guided by the view that
safety from crime and violence, including the fear and
insecurity that flow from these disturbing events, are public
goods and basic human rights, not unlike the right to clean
water, air and shelter. These principles have been embraced
at the international level and are increasingly being acknowledged
by national and local governments, as well as by local
community organizations. In concert with this, crime prevention
approaches have gained credibility and momentum, as
demonstrated by the development and reaffirmation of the
United Nations Economic and Social Council Resolution
1995/9 of 24 July 1995, the United Nations Guidelines for
Crime Prevention, 5 by the entry into force of the United
Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
and its three protocols, 6 and by the promulgation of the
United Nations Anti-Corruption Toolkit as part of the <strong>Global</strong>
Programme Against Corruption, 7 to name but a few of the
relatively recent initiatives.
Formal and informal institutions
It is clear that formal and informal institutions play important
roles in mediating or exacerbating the impacts of crime
and violence insomuch as victims and perpetrators are
affected by rules, decisions and programmes that flow from
public policy, as well as by ‘socially shared rules, usually
unwritten, that are created, communicated and enforced
outside of officially sanctioned channels’. 8 In many
instances, informal institutions trump the policies made by
formal institutions, as suggested in the examples from Brazil
and Russia below.
Formal institutional rules are epitomized in a variety
of interventions at all levels across the developed and developing
world and will be discussed in more detail. They
include some recurring themes based upon conditions and
trends in crime and violence, and can encompass social and
economic, situational and law enforcement interventions, or
combinations of these. For instance, based on what is known
about the linkages of employment, youthful populations and
the risks of crime, a major strategy of public and private
crime prevention programmes – from Kenya and Papua New
Guinea to the US – is targeting unemployed urban youths,
especially males, by providing training and job opportunities.
9 Such programmes are variably effective, given local
implementation strategies; but their desirability is almost
universally embraced.
Informal institutions are cultural norms that are not
sanctioned by official programmes or public policy (although
they may be influenced by them). For example, while extrajudicial
killings are prohibited by Brazilian law, the police are
sometimes encouraged by informal norms, pressures and
incentives within the security system to execute suspected
criminals who might otherwise escape prosecution. In the
former Soviet Union, although not approved by the state, the
‘blat’ system was widely used to obtain commodities not
provided by the Soviet command economy. It was a ‘prohibited
but possible’ means of receiving goods and favours that
would otherwise not be available. 10
There are instances where informal institutions play
vital and positive roles, for example in providing mediation
mechanisms that resolve conflicts within a community
before resorting to the formal justice system, therefore
providing diversion channels for minor offenders. There are
examples of informal institutions that are supported and
sanctioned by public policy, and do contribute to safety and
security in neighbourhoods. For example, the Sungusungu of
Tanzania are organized groups of people (neighbourhood
watch) operating with the authority and protection of the
government for law enforcement and protection of people
and property. Sungusungu are legally recognized through the
Peoples’ Militia Laws (Miscellaneous Amendment) Act,
1989 (No. 9 of 1989). The powers granted to Sungusungu
are similar to those vested in police officers of the rank of
Police Constable 11 . The Sungusungu groups are established
by the communities and recruit unemployed youth who
receive militia training and various forms of support from the
communities and municipalities. The communities
sometimes provide financial support, while the municipalities
usually provide material support, such as uniforms.
There are also instances where distinctions between
formal and informal institutions blur. This is evident in the
violence in Darfur and Iraq. In these circumstances, it is not
easy to distinguish between formal and informal institutions
that are perpetrating violent acts against citizens. In other
instances, where legitimate state force – in the way of the
realized protection of law and regulation – is lacking or
ineffective, criminal enterprises often fill the vacuum, as
exemplified by the expansion of the Russian mafia following
the fall of the Soviet Union and by burgeoning gangs in
lawless areas of Latin America’s megacities.
Key concepts and terms
A crime is fundamentally defined as an antisocial act that
violates a law and for which a punishment can be imposed by
the state or in the state’s name; the resulting range of
punishable acts is extraordinary and varies across jurisdic-