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244Towards safer and more secure citiesOne of the mostapparent trends inthe response tocrime and violencehas been the movefrom sole relianceon the police andthe judiciary to thedevelopment ofmore broadly basedapproachesinitiatives. However, there are few examples of this since theresources available for community safety initiatives areusually small in relation to the scale of the problem. What isimportant even when organizations that control funding arenot prepared to take an open-ended view of communitybasedinitiatives is that they should be willing to listen toideas that come from the community sources.Strengthening formal criminal justice andpolicingAlthough one of the most apparent trends in the response tocrime and violence has been the move from sole reliance onthe police and the judiciary to the development of morebroadly based approaches, this does not detract from theimportance of measures to strengthen the formal criminaljustice and policing systems in societies where these can beseen as part of the problem. The move towards more broadlybased approaches should not be seen as diminishing theimportance of the police and the judiciary, but rather as anacknowledgement of the fact that the struggle against crimeand violence needs to encompass an ever broader range ofapproaches. What is important is that these more ‘traditional’elements are seen as integral to contemporarycomprehensive approaches, rather than as elements standingoutside them.■ An example of a changing police culture:Hong KongAn interesting illustration of the interdependent nature ofthese phenomena is provided by the move of the Hong Kongpolice towards a more community focus for its work, and thedevelopment of a community service culture (see Box 4.8 inChapter 4). Here, the debates about the nature and role ofcommunity policing approaches, which had been going onvigorously in police forces across the world over thisperiod, 15 were overlain by major political changes away froma colonialist governmental legacy and towards reintegrationwith China, which, in turn, recognized that Hong Kong wasin some important ways different from the rest of thecountry.What was also clear during this process of change wasthat it did not always take place in a linear or orderly manner.It included significant stages where public responses to whathad been done previously shaped events, and where the ebband flow of ideas were influenced by the views of keypersonalities at various points in time. It was also a processthat took place over a long period. Clearly, there areelements of this story that are particular to the circumstancesof Hong Kong; but there are also aspects that offeruseful lessons elsewhere about the dynamics of a process ofthis nature. In particular, this case study illustrates theimportance of a process of winning hearts and minds, bothwithin the police service and among the communities forwhom it works. This can be among the most difficult andprotracted elements of a change process of this nature. But itis vital if the case for change is to be properly developed andthen put into effective practice.■ Resistance and the inability to change inpolice and justice systemsOne of the most important reasons why changes to policeand criminal justice systems need to be an integral part ofcomprehensive attempts to address crime and violence isbecause diagnoses of the problems to be faced have oftenconcluded that the operation, in practice, has added to thedifficulties. Three paragraphs from the UN-Habitat review ofits experiences of Safer Cities projects in Africa summarizethis well:Police have traditionally placed more emphasison major crime at the expense of unrelentingcommunity problems and conflicts. Police areoften opposed to the introduction of reformsdue to cultural resistance to change, inadequatetraining offered to its agents and a lack of transparency.The justice system is also beingquestioned in view of its inability to deal effectivelywith urban delinquency. The helplessnessin dealing with files efficiently, the lack ofresources, in some cases a lack of transparency,the myriad of laws that are impossible to implement,and the lack of alternative solutions allaccount for the inefficiency within the justicesystem. In Africa, the number of prisonersawaiting trial is twice as high as the number ofaccused. This number is equal in Latin Americaand much lower in other regions. This illustratesthe slow pace and the lack of efficiency inthe justice system.Prisons, with the exception of a fewmodern and experimental ones, can be consideredschools for technical training and networkdevelopment for delinquents. 16 The worldwiderate of recidivism exceeds 60 per cent. Butdespite evidence that the restorative function ofprison fails, they maintain a symbolic value inthe minds of many which renders it an easysolution and clear response, as demonstrated inAfrica where the rate of incarceration is similarto Latin America but higher than in otherregions in the world. 17Not surprisingly, given this diagnosis, an important componentof Safer Cities projects in African cities has beenattempts to address such problems. Box 10.3 summarizesthe various actions that have been undertaken in this regard.■ The importance of public confidence inpolice and justice systemsAs well as the direct benefits that flow from the specificactions summarized in Box 10.3, the public at large also feelsconfident that the police and the criminal justice systemswill do their jobs properly so that their contribution to publicsafety will be effective. There is clear evidence from the casestudies for this Global Report that this is not always the case.