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Key findings and messagesxxixsystems will play their part in this process effectively, andwhere this is not the case, the problems that give rise to thislack of confidence need to be vigorously addressed. Keyelements of such action will include the active participationof senior managers in police and criminal justice organizations,resources and political support, and a willingness totry new approaches where existing approaches are notworking.Programmes aimed at strengthening the police, particularlyin developing countries, should also address theirwelfare and poor conditions of service. In many Africancountries, the police earn a pittance and often lack thenecessary resources and equipment to perform their duties.In countries such as Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, SouthAfrica and Kenya, members of the police force have not beenspared from the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Furthermore, theliving conditions in most of the existing police accommodationare appalling.Prison reforms are one of the key policy areasthrough which central governments can contribute totackling crime. By improving prison conditions and placingmore emphasis on rehabilitation, the situation whereprisons become finishing schools or ‘universities’ for criminalscan be prevented. It is possible for re-offending, orrecidivism, rates to be significantly reduced as a consequenceof greater emphasis on rehabilitation. This will havea beneficial impact on crime because a high proportion iscommitted by previous offenders.Support at the international level can help cities,particularly in developing and transitional countries, toimprove their ability to implement measures effectively thataddress crime and violence. Such direct assistance shouldbe part of a package that also includes continuing andstrengthening international cooperation in tackling varioustypes of organized crime, such as trafficking of drugs, armsand people – all of which have international dimensions.There are several examples of international support thathave been of immense importance to particular cities. Forexample, assistance from the US has been a key factor inrecent efforts at tackling crime and violence in Kingston(Jamaica). Likewise, Canada, The Netherlands and Swedenhave contributed to Safer Cities projects in several Africancities.One particular type of international support that canbe very helpful is in the field of training and staff development.There are already several examples of this practice. Aspart of its support for the reform of the JamaicaConstabulary Force since 2000, the UK government hasbeen providing financial resources to support internationalpolice officers working alongside Jamaica’s force in addressingcrime. This has included Metropolitan Police officersworking directly with their Jamaican counterparts, as well astraining being offered by the Metropolitan Police to theJamaica Constabulary Force.SECURITY OF TENURE ANDFORCED EVICTIONSKey findingsMore than 150 countries have ratified the InternationalCovenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).Governments in all of these countries are legally obliged tocollect data and report on the scale and scope of tenureinsecurity, forced evictions and homelessness (among otherissues) in their countries. Despite this, there is a glaring lackof comprehensive and comparative data on security of tenureand forced evictions, both globally and within mostcountries.In the absence of such data, perhaps the best indicatoron the scale of urban tenure insecurity is the extent ofinformal settlements and other slums. Insecure tenure is, infact, used as one of the indicators defining what constitutesa slum. Today, there are about 1 billion slum dwellers in theworld. The vast majority of these, more than 930 million, areliving in developing countries, where they constitute 42 percent of the urban population. In the urban areas of the leastdeveloped countries, slum dwellers account for 78 per centof the population. The proportion of slum dwellers is particularlyhigh in sub-Saharan Africa (72 per cent of the urbanpopulation) and in Southern Asia (59 per cent).The most visible outcome of tenure insecurity is thepractice of forced evictions. Based on incidents reported toan international non-governmental organization (NGO) in alimited number of countries, at least 2 million people in theworld are forcibly evicted every year. The actual figure isprobably significantly higher. In addition, every year, severalmillion people are threatened by forced evictions.In Nigeria alone, an estimated 2 million people havebeen forcibly evicted from their homes since 2000. InZimbabwe, an estimated 750,000 people were evicted in2005 alone. In China, during the 2001 to 2008 period, it isestimated that 1.7 million people are directly affected bydemolitions and relocations related to the Beijing OlympicGames. Evictions are not only found in developing countries,however. Each year, 25,000 evictions, on average, arecarried out in New York City alone.The main causes of large-scale forced evictions arepublic infrastructure development, international megaevents (including global conferences and international sportingevents, such as the Olympic Games) and urbanbeautification projects. Often, such evictions are undertakenwith bulldozers, supported by heavy police presence, andthe targets of such forced evictions are nearly always theresidents of poor informal settlements or slums.In addition to the millions of people subjected toforced evictions, perhaps an even higher number of peopleare subject to market-based evictions. This is a phenomenondirectly linked to increased globalization and commercializationof land and housing. Through a process commonlyknown as gentrification, individuals, households or evenwhole neighbourhoods – most of them urban poor – areforced out of their homes, due primarily to their inability topay higher rents.