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Reducing urban crime and violence257urban development interventions and policies. There arevarious ways of achieving this, and the role that local authoritiesplay is important in this respect. Specifically, it isimportant to systematically include crime and violenceamong issues to be analysed when assessing urban developmentand investment needs, as well as in relation to theformulation of City Development Strategies. Similarly, developmentinterventions and policies should be subjected, asmuch as possible, to crime impact assessment. Althoughintegrated and comprehensive tools to assess crime impactshave not been fully developed, social impact assessment andthe ex-ante evaluation of physical developments in terms oftheir vulnerability to crime or responsiveness to criteria ofprevention through environmental design could becomeroutine.Another means for working towards increasedintegration of the issue would be the involvement of thepolice and its knowledge and experience in the formulationof policies and projects. The experience of the UK in relationto the collaboration between the police and planning authorities,or the positive role played by police authorities andindividual officers in the consultative processes promoted byUN-Habitat Safer Cities Programme, indicate the potential ofsuch collaboration. This will also assist in changing thenegative perception of the police, and would respond to theneed for partnership that the police itself often expresses inrelation to crime prevention.Such integration requires more accurate and in-depthanalytical capacities and information, the development oflocal capacity, and a systematic analysis of the relationshipsbetween service provision, social and economic urbanpolicies, and planning, with crime prevention. Such relationsare complex and, to some extent, debatable and have to beclarified locally. Integration will also require the developmentof tools and the necessary guidelines. Indeed, thereare to date still very few training and academic programmesthat provide training geared towards such integration.Effective international support for initiativesagainst crime and violenceInternational support of various kinds can help cities in thedeveloping world to improve their ability to effectivelyimplement measures that address problems of crime andviolence. This kind of direct assistance should be seen aspart of a package, which also includes continuing andstrengthening international cooperation in tackling certainkinds of crime, where very often their worst consequencesare most felt in cities. For example, as Chapters 3 and 4 havediscussed, the trafficking of drugs, arms and people intoprostitution are all matters where international cooperationis vitally important, and where, in practice, the consequencesof a failure to stop illegal activities of this naturewill be experienced on the streets of cities of both theWestern world and the rapidly urbanizing developing world.It is important that support activities continue and developacross this full spectrum. But the following discussion develops,in particular, arguments about the scope for directinternational support targeted at particular cities.In terms of direct action to help specific cities, severalexamples have already been given of projects that are ofconsiderable benefit. For example, funding from the US hasbeen a very significant factor in recent efforts to mountprojects tackling aspects of crime and violence in Kingston(Jamaica). 50 The Netherlands has contributed to Safer Citiesprojects in Johannesburg, Durban and Dar es Salaam (wherethe government of Sweden has also been a contributor). 51Canada has helped with the process of updating the preexistingreview of the experience of Safer Cities projects inAfrica. 52 These are a few examples of how internationalassistance can help the effort to tackle crime and violence inrapidly developing cities. Targeted assistance of this nature isnot only immediately beneficial to the recipient city, but italso gives the donating organization confidence that thefunding will be used in the specified manner and will not befiltered off for other uses, including corrupt activities, whichhas been a big issue in relation to international funding.One particular type of international support that canbe very helpful is in the field of training and staff development.There are already several good examples of thispractice. For example, as part of its support for the reform ofthe Jamaica Constabulary Force since 2000, the UK governmenthas been providing financial resources on a significantscale – UK£2.5 million in the first three-year period, afurther UK£2.4 million for the three years from August2005, and a further UK£750,000 announced in October2005, mainly to support international police officers workingalongside Jamaica’s force in addressing issues of seriouscrime. This latter element has included Metropolitan Policeofficers working directly with their Jamaican counterparts, aswell as training being offered by the Metropolitan Police tothe Jamaica Constabulary Force. 53 The relationship betweenthe Jamaica Constabulary Force and the UK’s MetropolitanPolice suggests there can be particular advantages in thisrelationship existing on a continuous rather than an ad hocbasis since this offers the opportunity of progressiveimprovement rather than short-term gains. This arrangementwas also of direct value to the UK in the sense that it helpedto stem the flow of criminal activity from Jamaica to theUK. 54 Bearing in mind the international nature of somecriminal activity, this is a dimension that should not beignored when considering such arrangements.Mentoring projects can also help in this situation andmay well be an appropriate form of follow-up to initial trainingperiods. If initiatives of this kind concentrate not just onskills development, but also on helping to develop a cadre ofpeople capable of training others in their locality, this can bea very cost-effective form of assistance with considerablelong-term benefits. It should also be said that the benefits ofapproaches of this nature can be two way since this can alsobe a useful development opportunity for the individualseconded and from which the employing organization wouldalso subsequently benefit. There is clearly scope for moreinitiatives of this kind because capacity-building is one of thesignificant problem areas that many crime and violenceinitiatives face in parts of the world where few, if any, ofthese kinds of activities have taken place previously.It is important tosystematicallyinclude crime andviolence amongissues to be analysedwhen assessingurban developmentand investmentneedsInternationalsupport of variouskinds can help citiesin the developingworld to improvetheir ability toeffectivelyimplement measuresthat addressproblems of crimeand violence