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Urban crime and violence: Policy responses99unacceptable levels of crime and violence in the city, andpublic and community action in some or all parts of thosecities designed to tackle these problems.■ Community involvement in Toronto,CanadaA good example of a city where several different forms ofcommunity involvement exist in its approaches to crimeprevention and safety is the city of Toronto (Canada). 57Toronto is one of the world’s most ethnically diverse cities,with people from over 200 nations who speak more than100 languages. As such, it epitomizes the point that‘community’ means very many different things when lookingat large cities. One of the most striking elements of the 2004Toronto Community Safety Plan 2004 58 is the emphasis oncrime prevention through social development. This is theidea that spatially targeted or area-based interventions arenecessary to tackle the particular problems of specific neighbourhoods.The approach recognizes the different social andstructural factors at work in each of these neighbourhoods,and programmes seek to build on the strengths of the neighbourhoods.At the time that the Toronto case study for this GlobalReport was being drafted in 2006, 13 ‘at-risk’ neighbourhoods59 had been identified both for preparing crimeprevention programmes and for securing the resources tosupport them. The approach adopted in each of these areaswas to develop a Neighbourhood Action Plan throughpartnership between the city council, residents, communityleaders, the police and relevant local agencies. The intentionbehind this process is that the interventions that are consideredto be appropriate in each case should build the localcommunity’s capacity to improve safety and to preventcrime, especially violent crime. Examples of these initiativesare summarized in Box 4.7.Although this approach appears to have considerablepotential to reduce crime, it is too early in the life of thisinitiative to offer much by way of evaluation. But threeelements stand out: its wide-ranging and imaginative nature;the various ways in which local communities are directlyinvolved in programme delivery; and the targeted nature ofwhat is being attempted. This set of activities also illustratesthe point made earlier about not seeing initiatives as if theyare in tightly sealed compartments because the examples inBox 4.7 illustrate a range of ways in which communities canget involved and could also be seen as illustrating initiativeson reduction of risk (particularly the emphasis on activitiesto keep youth away from crime) and strengthening of socialcapital.Classical response to crime and violence:Strengthening formal criminal justicesystems and policingStrengthening formal criminal justice systems and policingcould be seen as the classical response to problems of crimeand violence. This is because the criminal justice systemsand policing were seen to be the main societal toolsdesigned to address this issue before the broadening of theresponse agenda in recent years. However, criminal justiceand police systems are often perceived by the public at largeas being part of the problem rather than part of the solution.Many people would like to be in the position of being able toengage in discussions with their local police force aboutcrime prevention initiatives in their areas, but feel unable todo so because either they do not trust the police or they feelthat there are protective links between the police and criminalgroups. 60The case of Diadema discussed earlier containselements of this in the days when its streets were characterizedby lawlessness. One of the issues that this initiative hadto tackle was the need to develop more positive relationsbetween the police and the local communities. 61 In thiscase, improvements to policing, in particular through theefforts of a charismatic senior police officer (who himselfwas subsequently murdered), were very important in securingthe success of the initiative to close bars in the city muchearlier than previously. Therefore, improving the performanceof these ‘classical’ services that tackle crime andviolence has an important part to play; in particular, actionsto tackle corruption are central to efforts to improve theconfidence that communities have in these services. Thisrequires implementation of initiatives that improve theability of the police to respond to community needs andpriorities and the ability of those communities to participatein prevention efforts. It is difficult to imagine measures totackle crime and violence being successful if they have to tryto bypass criminal justice and police systems, even wherethey are seen as uncooperative or operating in ways thatsupport criminal activities. 62■ Changing approaches to policing inHong KongThe Hong Kong case study undertaken for this report 63suggests that changes in styles and processes of policingsince the 1960s appear to have been an important factor inthe achievement and maintenance of Hong Kong’s low crimerates. The essential change here has been a move away froma traditional ‘command-and-control’ approach and towardsthe evolution of a more community-based approach to policing.The various stages of this process are summarized in Box4.8.This story of a change process over a protractedperiod of time illustrates the point that significant adaptationsto complex structures such as police forces are unlikelyto be accomplished quickly, partly because there is likely tobe intense debate about what the right steps are in theparticular circumstances and partly because the task of‘winning the hearts and minds’ of all the staff membersinvolved is a large one. Nevertheless, it is of fundamentalimportance that changes of this nature can and do happen ifpolice forces are to play their full part in the fight againstcrime and violence.■ Guardianship approaches in New YorkCity’s Bryant ParkOne related type of initiative that seems to be becomingmore common, and can work well in appropriate circum-Criminal justice andpolice systems areoften perceived bythe public at large asbeing part of theproblem rather thanpart of the solutionIt is difficult toimagine measures totackle crime andviolence beingsuccessful if theyhave to try to bypasscriminal justice andpolice systems