Download the file - United Nations Rule of Law

Reducing urban crime and violence261which city authorities struggle to cope. The propositions thathave been summarized above do not represent an easysolution to these problems: in truth, there is no such thing.But they offer hope that this problem is capable of beingaddressed effectively so that urban crime and violence, if noteradicated, can at least be contained in the 21st century.NOTES1 See Colquhoun, 2004;Schneider and Kitchen,2007.2 This issue of the relationshipbetween design decisionsand future pressures onpolice resources seems tohave been little studied inthe literature; but if it is thecase that one kind of designapproach will lead to adifferent experience ofcrime in the future than willanother, then it is a factor tobe taken into account.3 Kitchen, 2005.4 Poyner, 2006.5 One of the best-knownexamples of this is in thework of Coleman (1990),who coined the phrase‘design disadvantagement’for the features she saw inthe developments shestudied, which in her viewcreated opportunities forcrime and violent behaviour.6 There is some evidencefrom the field of premisesliability litigation in the US tothe effect that this issue isbeginning to have an impacton court decisions. Itremains to be seen whether,and if so to what extent, thiswill spread to other parts ofthe world; but if it does, itcould well have a powerfulimpact on designers anddevelopers. See Schneiderand Kitchen, 2007.7 Morton and Kitchen, 2005.8 There are several examplesof African cities that illustratethis point that aresummarized in UN-Habitat,2006e.9 The elements summarized inthis paragraph are discussedin more detail in theBradford case study undertakenfor this volume(Kitchen, 2007).10 See UN-Habitat, 2006g.11 Schneider and Kitchen,2007.12 This work is summarized inBox 4.2.13 This would certainly be theconclusion to be drawnfrom the literature on theseprocesses in developedcountries, although there arealso extensive debates aboutboth the strengths and thelimitations of this approach.See Innes and Booher, 2004.14 Kingston case study undertakenfor this Global Reportby Gray, 2007.15 Elements of this sameprocess of transition canalso be seen in the casestudy material presented inChapter 4 on the role of thepolice in helping to reducecrime and violence inDiadema, São Paulo, and alsoin the development of astronger community orientationfor the police as partof a series of measures toaddress crime and violenceand Kingston (Jamaica).16 This is also a strong featureof the reactions to theprison system in PortMoresby (Papua NewGuinea).17 UN-Habitat, 2006g, p8.18 Boamah and Stanley, 2007.19 Esser, 2004.20 Ibid.21 Zambuko and Edwards,2006.22 Manso et al, 2005.23 Gray, 2007.24 Ibid.25 Ibid.26 UN-Habitat, 2006g, p16.27 Ibid, p32.28 The example of Papua NewGuinea has already beencited by Boamah and Stanley,2007.29 The Hong Kong case studyundertaken for this GlobalReport illustrates theprocesses of change in policingthat have taken place inthose particularcircumstances (Broadhurstet al, 2007).30 Kitchen, 2007.31 Zambuko and Edwards,2006.32 Gray, 2007.33 Masese, 2007.34 Thompson and Gartner,2007.35 Macedo, 2007.36 Zaluar, 2007.37 Boamah and Stanley, 2007.38 Gray, 2007.39 Ibid.40 The example of the work ofone of these partnerships isdiscussed in Kitchen (2007).41 Morton and Kitchen, 2005.42 Sherman et al, 1997.43 UN-Habitat, 2006g, p27.44 Ibid, pp26–28.45 Ibid, pp26–28.46 The resources available tolocal authorities in variousparts of the world to enablethem to discharge theirmainstream functions arevariable, with some localauthorities having in anabsolute sense a muchstronger resource base thanothers.47 UN-Habitat, 2006g,pp15–16.48 Michau and Naker, 2003,p14.49 UN-Habitat, undated, pp8–9.50 Gray, 2007.51 UN-Habitat Safer Citieswebsite, http://unhabitat.org/programmes/safercities/projects.asp.52 UN-Habitat, 2006g.53 News announcement athttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4300240.stm.54 Ibid.55 The progress with individualprojects can be reviewed athttp://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/safercities/projects.asp.56 UN-Habitat, 2006g.57 As yet, the Port MoresbySafer Cities Programme isstill in its early stages.