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260Towards safer and more secure citiesThere are manyparts of the worldwhere crime andviolence are atcompletelyunacceptable levels,and where citizensfind their daily livesblighted all toofrequently byexperiences of thiskindpolice and the criminal justice system, has increasinglybeen replaced by an approach that recognizes thenecessity for a broad-based response. There is considerablescope for further developing this approach.• Nonetheless, it is important that the police and thecriminal justice system are ‘fit for purpose’ in themodern world, and are seen as key contributors to thefight against crime and violence. Improvements in these‘traditional’ areas should be seen as being complementaryto the new approaches being developed in‘non-traditional’ fields, and appropriate linkages shouldbe developed between all of these activities.• The main ‘non-traditional’ fields where thedevelopment of fresh policy responses has taken placecomprise the following:– the idea that urban safety and security can beenhanced through effective urban planning, designand governance;– the development of community-based approachesto enhancing urban safety and security;– developing ways of reducing the key risk factors byfocusing on groups most vulnerable to crime,especially young people and women; and– strengthening social capital through initiatives thatlook to develop the ability of individuals andcommunities themselves to respond to problems ofcrime and violence, provide economic, social,cultural and sporting opportunities, and improvethe environment in ways that assist theseprocesses.• Less attention has, as yet, been paid to applying the ideaof the non-violent resolution of conflicts. However,there is scope for the further exploration of this idea.• The combination of several of these approaches into asystematic programme, driven by a broad strategy andbased upon a careful understanding of the local context,seems more likely to be successful than the ad hocapplication of individual initiatives.• The preferred mechanism to support this approach isusually the partnership mechanism; but to be fullyeffective, partnerships need to address a series ofquestions about their operation, and partners need tobuy fully into ‘the spirit of partnership’.• The transfer of ideas from elsewhere can be veryvaluable; but it needs to be thought about carefully inthe particular circumstances in which the ideas will beapplied. It cannot be assumed that ideas that haveworked in one part of the world will necessarily worksuccessfully elsewhere. There are no one-size-fits-allsolutions, and there is no substitute for a careful studyof the particular situation in order to determine themost appropriate course of action.• A greater level of commitment to evaluation as aprocess that can contribute to partnerships working atseveral points in time and on several levels is stillrequired, and there needs to be more open reporting ofevaluation results, including in areas where problemshave been experienced. The work of partnershipsshould be seen as a learning process, to which both theresults of evaluative work and the operational experiencesof people directly involved in the process ofimplementation can make a considerable contribution.• The best institutional structures for implementingprogrammes are likely to be those that succeed ingetting the key players involved in delivery in ways thatcommit them to the programme, as well as ways thatexplore how the mainstream work of their ownagencies can contribute to the overall effectiveness ofthe programme’s initiatives. Local authorities will oftenbe the most appropriate leaders of such structures.• Local communities need to be as fully involved as possiblein these processes, not only in terms ofconsultation, but also as generators and implementersof projects.• Capacity-building is a fundamental part of work at thelocal level to tackle crime and violence. The approachadopted to capacity-building activities needs to be asbroadly based as possible and should include the idea ofcapacity-building for professional groups, partnershipmembers and local community members.• International support has a key role to play in actionagainst crime and violence in the cities of the developingworld, as well as continuing to develop cooperativemeasures in tackling the international dimensions ofcrime. This can also include targeted financial supportfor particular initiatives, help with capacity-building,availability of appropriate expertise throughsecondment, and assistance with various types ofmentoring. In addition, norms, guidelines, and reportingrequirements could be developed to assist andfacilitate the promotion of such interventions.• The UN-Habitat Safer Cities Programme needs toengage more cities than it has done to date and, wherepossible, to help speed up the process in cities thathave proved to be slow in getting to grips with theproblems. There are several things that might help inthis context; but one important issue is resource availabilityboth for the programme as a whole and forprojects in individual cities. Further internationalsupport could be of considerable value in this context aswell.There can be no doubt that this represents a very challengingagenda. There are many parts of the world where crimeand violence are at completely unacceptable levels, andwhere citizens find their daily lives blighted all toofrequently by experiences of this kind. It is also clear thatmany cities are being held back in their development by theadverse consequences of crime and violence, and the reputationthat these bring with them, which, in turn, affects theirability as cities to invest in improving the quality of life oftheir citizens. In all of these areas, the challenge is toimprove the situation as quickly and as effectively as possibleso that freedom from crime and violence becomes the realisticexpectation of citizens. In particular, this agendarepresents a huge challenge to those cities that can expectlarge-scale growth in the coming decades if that growth isnot to be associated with crime and violence on a scale with