| SAFER CITIES TOOLS The Safer Cities
Programme has, in collaboration with its partners in the different projects
and through international co-operation, developed a set of tools:
1) to help determine the extent and nature of crime,
2) to develop adequate prevention strategies and solutions based on
each specific problem and,
3) to define the modalities of implementaion of the measures.
These tools are under continuos development through the extraction
of lessons learnt and the dissemination of experiences. The tools are
used at different stages in the development of a Safer Cities project
and thus fall under different categories:
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
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| CRIME PREVENTION PLANNING
TOOLS |
- Action Plan Strategy
- Consultation Workshops
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| IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS |
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| INSTITUTIONALISATION |
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| REGIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING |
- International and regional seminars
- Reporting formats
- Toolkit
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Victimisation Survey
The victimisation survey is a technical tool consisting of a set of
questions that directly consults the public on occurrences of crime
and the people's perception of insecurity. It helps to determine the
extent, manifestations and types of crime.
It seeks to identify those most at risk, measure levels of fear, evaluate
public perceptions of police effectiveness and service delivery, establish
the opinions of victims and others regarding appropriate interventions.
The objectives are:
- a. to complement the official crime records and statistics;
- b. to provide a comprehensive picture of victimisation and people's
perception and fear of victimisation;
- c. to function as a tool for mapping crime and, when repeated on
a regular basis, allows the effect of crime prevention strategies
on a given population to be measured.
This tool has been applied in the Safer Cities Projects
in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Johannesburg, South Africa and is under
development for Nairobi, Kenya.
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This is a tool used to provide in-depth information on youth in trouble
with the law and youth at risk. It collects qualitative and quantitative
data on:
a. the background of youth offenders;
b. experiences in crime of youth offenders;
c. motivations of youth offenders to become involved in criminal
activities;
d. experiences of youth offenders with the police, prisons and
the justice system;
e. opinions, hopes and fears for the future of youth offenders.
This information can improve understanding of decision-makers and thus
improve service delivery. The data is collected through in-depth interviews
with young offenders, questionnaires and focus group discussions in
collaboration with NGOs and the youth justice system.
This tool has been applied in the Safer Cities Projects
in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and is under development for Nairobi, Kenya.
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The Local Safety Appraisal is a key instrument to determine the extent
of crime in a city, its manifestations, causes, impact on society and
the public perceptions. The appraisal is also a tool to build awareness
and mobilise the various stakeholders. The information is acquired through
meetings or focus groups with key urban stakeholders (local government,
police, criminal justice system, civil society, private sector and research
institutions) and preparatory analyses and research through already
existent statistical information, like police records. The local safety
appraisal describes:
a. the main socio-economic characteristics of the city appraisal;
b. the characteristics of the key urban stakeholders;
c. the level of service delivery by the local government and by the
police, and the people's perception of these services;
d. existing strategies, policies and activities that address urban safety
issues;
e. the main security problems, the main manifestations of crime and
violence, the characteristics of victims and offenders, and the fear
and perceptions of crime and insecurity;
f. the (perceived) causes of urban insecurity (1) at the community level,
(2) the family level, (3) the social level, (4) in the urban design,
(5) due to organised crime and (6) due to the crisis in the criminal
justice system. (i.e. those causes that the project can have an effect
on). insecurity issues. Thus, this method consists of three tools:
1. a stakeholder analysis (b);
2. a municipal analysis (a, c and d);
3. and a safety profile (e and f).
The local safety appraisal can be complemented by more in-depths surveys
such as victimisation surveys and women's safety audits.
This tool has been applied in all the Safer Cities
Projects.
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Local Safety Coalition
The Local Safety Coalition gathers those involved in the safety issues
of a city and those who represent the various interest groups in the
area. As such, the coalition includes the municipality, the criminal
justice system, the private sector and civil society. The purpose of
the coalition is to generate consensus between the partners to validate
the Local Safety Appraisal and further to develop a strategy and an
action plan.
The coalitions can be temporary, focusing on a specific topic, or permanent.
Local Safety Coalitions have four main tasks:
1. To define problems that need to be solved and formulate objectives;
2. To draw up action programmes on how to reach the objectives;
3. To take stock of the available resources: financial, human, material,
services;
4. To follow the implementation process and if necessary to readjust
the safety strategy and action plan.
The Local Safety Coalition brings together the key urban partners to
reach consensus and commitment on an urban crime prevention strategy
through dialogue and partnerships.
They are supposed to become institutionalised within local authority
structures to ensure sustainability. The coalition involves all key
urban actors on the basis of equity and civic engagement. Finally, they
require proper leadership, preferebly by the municipality (the Major
for instance) to ensure co-ordination and conflict resolution.
Local safety coalitions have been established in all
the various Safer Cities projects.
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Women Safety Audit
The tool is based on the fact that for women, fear of crime is much
higher for women than for men. The audit involves women (safety audits
can however also involve other vulnerable groups such as children, the
elderly, the handicapped and people form ethnic minorities) to detect
what corrective actions need to be taken in the urban environment to
make it safer for all its inhabitants.
The audit consists of exploratory walks in the field by groups of 3
to 6 people, mainly women. It may also involve city planners, architects
and city counsellors for sensitising, awareness building and decision
making process. At each specific site, participants identify where the
potential for a crime is high or where women, or others, may feel unsafe.
The audits are meant to increase awareness of crime and violence against
vulnerable groups and to help decision-makers to understand how men
and women experience their environments. It gives legitimacy to women's
concerns and is an effective tool to build community safety.
This tool has been applied to the Safer Cities Project
in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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Neighbourhood Watch Groups
Neighbourhood Watch Groups are a form of community prevention involving
community members in providing increased formal control in their neighbourhood.
Members collaborate with the police and local leaders in the surveillance
of their specific neighbourhood.
A specific model of such groups has been developed in Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania, where they are called Sungu-sungu.
Community based watch groups create new employment opportunities for
the inhabitants in the different neighbourhoods and strengthen the collaboration
among different sectors of society (traders, youth, residents), under
the guidance of the local authority (Ward). The inhabitants or local
businesses that are paying a small monthly fee, finance the local guards.
Other groups of Sungu-sungu are made up of the inhabitants themselves
who dedicate some of their time to work within the group. The Sungu-sungu's
promote community-based initiatives and collaboration to improve the
safety in the neighbourhood and to address the causes of crime, thereby
preventing crime and violence.
Neighbourhood Watch Groups have been developed and
applied to the Safer Cities Projects in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Johannesburg,
South Africa, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and Anantanarivo, Madagascar.
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Municipal Police Service
This form of policing enables visible policing, crime prevention and
by-law enforcement and is used to bring the police closer to the people.
The municipal police force is accountable to the local government and
works closely with the Safer Cities teams. The crime prevention function
is linked with the visible presence, by means of patrols and quick responses.
Visible policing will often reduce the public's fear of crime. The practice
of Municipal policing is still under development, but international
experiences show the success of this form of policing. Emphasising the
effectiveness when not in competition or conflict of interest with the
National Police Force.
Municipal policing has been established in Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania,, Johannesburg, South Africa and Anantanarivo, Madagascar.
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Victim Assistance
Empowerment of victims is an important part of crime prevention. It
can restore public confidence in the criminal justice system, prevent
re-offending and it can keep victims from offending in response to the
harm inflicted on them. It is a necessary addition to the roles and
responsibilities of all the agencies involved.
The Victim Assistance Programme Toolkit of Business Against Crime Gauteng,
South Africa, seeks to provide victim support through victim empowerment,
which aims to make it possible for victims of crime or violence to heal
and move on with the least possible harm or loss. Victim empowerment
contributes to a process of restorative justice by entrenching internationally
accepted basic victims' rights as agreed by the United Nations. These
include the right:
- to be treated with respect and dignity;
- to offer information;
- to receive information;
- to legal advice;
- to protection;
- to compensation.
The toolkit ensures an integrated service and an accessible victim
empowerment framework. Victim support is community based, independent,
free and confidential. It provides general assistance, physical, emotional,
practical and financial. Victim support services require that key people
are involved, that people are prepared and well trained for the task
and that sufficient resources are mobilised.
All government departments involved in crime, violence and safety issues
have a role to play in empowering victims.
This tool has been applied to Johannesburg, South
Africa.
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Training of Safer Cities Co-ordinators
The Safer Cities Co-ordinator stimulates, supports and promotes the
implementation of the Safer Cities project and approach. He/she is therefore
central to the development and institutionalisation of a local safety
strategy.
In order for the co-ordinators to function properly, they need to acquire
a certain level of political, social and communication skills. The Safer
Cities Programme, together with its partners, is therefore developing
training modules.
At present, such a module has been implemented in francophone African
countries. Two fielded visits targeting project coordinators took place
in 2002. A study tour on visitng local crime prevention projects and
focused in violence against women have taken place for the Safer Cities
co-ordinators in Montreal, Canada in May 2002. A study tour in Durban,
South Africa, focused on local government initiatives and on integrated
urban development prevention projects.
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Safer Cities Toolkit
Safer Cities, in collaboration with the Crime Prevention Centre of
CSIR in South Africa is currently developing the Safer Cities
Urban Crime Prevention Toolkit. The toolkit will consolidate
the experiences gained. It will provide local governments and other
partners with practical guidelines for implementing local crime prevention
initiatives in their cities and will be a key instrument for disseminating
and communicating the Safer Cities experience to local partners. It
will also assist in delivering a consistently high-quality training
and technical assistance to local project teams.
| LOCAL CRIME PREVENTION TOOLKIT WORKBOOK
STRUCTURE
INTRODUCTION: Why a Local Crime Prevention
Toolkit and How to use the Toolkit
PRINCIPLES GUIDING THIS TOOLKIT: a
Process Based Approach; the Case for Local Leadership;
Addressing Common Hurdles
SECTION1: THE CRIME PREVENTION PROCESS
Each section will present: About this Section; Definitions
& Objectives; The processes involved in the step
and the tools options; Case Studies
STEP A. START UP
STEP B. BUILDING THE PARTNERSHIP
STEP C. UNDERSTANDING LOCAL SAFETY
STEP D. DEVELOPING THE STRATEGY
STEP E. ACTION PLANNING & IMPLEMENTATION
STEP F. INSTITUTIONALISING THE APPROACH
SECTION 2: SUPPORTING THE PROCESS
UNIT G. MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP
UNIT H. INFORMATION, EDUCATION & COMMUNICATION
UNIT I. MONITORING & EVALUATION
SECTION 3: TOOLS TO SUPPORT CRIME PREVENTION
PROCESSES
For each steps, tools, check lists, formats and guidelines
are presented
SECTION 4: CASE STUDIES
GLOSSARY & REFERENCES: list of
documentation and links to centre of excellence on urban
crime prevention worldwide
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Adapting of Tools, Networking and Training
- Training of Safer Cities project coordinators in Abidjan, Antananarivo,
Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Cameroon, Johannesburg, Durban and Nairobi.
- The Safer Cites victimisation survey methodology used in South Africa
has also been adapted for surveying Youth at Risk and Violence against
Women in Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Yaoundé.
- The victim survey and youth offender methodologies have greatly
been improved by adapting them in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
- Training on safety audits for women originally designed for Safer
Cities projects in South Africa is now being used in other cities
like Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.
- Networking for sharing lessons learned: Contacts have been established
between local teams and actors from different cities – for example,
Business Against Crime Johannesburg has linked up with the Nairobi
Business Community (NCBDA).
- Tools development and improvement is an ongoing activity: tools
are currently being improved by testing their usefulness in Douala,
Yaoundé and many other cities.
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