News
Making cities more inclusive and secure through community policing
International Expert Meeting at UNICRI
Turin, 16 November 2015. The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has convened an international expert meeting on the community oriented approach to prevent and counter violence and crime in urban settings. The meeting is taking place at UNICRI HQs from 16 to 18 November 2015 and sees the participation of experts and law enforcement representatives from several countries.
Urban stakeholders, especially local institutions - and particularly the law enforcement - have to address the new challenges of the urban growth such as the changing composition of the local communities and the new threats posed by organized crime and terrorism.
According to the Director of UNICRI, Ms. Cindy J. Smith, “Lack of trust, mutual respect and dialogue among institutions and civil society create a fertile ground for criminal and extremists groups and increase vulnerabilities of urban population, in particular young people, minors, women and elderly. Urban security threats have increasingly highlighted the need for a greater combination of top-down norms with bottom-up approaches paving the way for new innovative, cost-effective resilience strategies and sustainable people-centered responses.”
In this respect law enforcement officials play a pivotal role in working with communities to prevent and control crime. Particularly effective are policing approaches that encourage consultation and collaboration with citizens. Community policing enhances problem solving and community trust. This is especially effective for police responses to under-reported crimes, in particular domestic violence and other forms of violence against vulnerable population. A police agency that embraces community policing can balance the more conventional reactive responses with proactive efforts that encompass early intervention, prevention, and treatment.
Experts in the meeting are presenting and sharing information on promising practices and lessons learned on community policing models developed and adapted at the national level in different countries. Law enforcement representatives are providing an overview of their community policing programme, the main challenges addressed and the most important achievements. A special session of the meeting will be dedicated to youth gangs and violent extremism.
The outcomes of the meeting will lay the basis for the elaboration of the technical guidance tool on Effective Community Policing Strategies to Enhance Urban Security to assist requesting Member States in setting up community policing programmes.
During the meeting the Director of UNICRI, Ms. Cindy J. Smith, said: "Lack of trust, mutual respect and dialogue among institutions and civil society create a fertile ground for criminal and extremists groups and increase vulnerabilities of urban populations, particularly among young people, minors, women and elderly."
She added, "Urban security threats have increasingly highlighted the need for a greater combination of top-down norms with bottom-up approaches paving the way for new innovative, cost-effective resilience strategies and sustainable people-centered responses. Urban stakeholders, especially local institutions have to address the new challenges of urban growth, particularly the threats posed by organized crime and terrorism. We have to rapidly adapt to urban growth and be able to design and implement effective models to address new threats and needs."
Turin, 16 November 2015. The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has convened an international expert meeting on the community oriented approach to prevent and counter violence and crime in urban settings. The meeting is taking place at UNICRI HQs from 16 to 18 November 2015 and sees the participation of experts and law enforcement representatives from several countries.
Urban stakeholders, especially local institutions - and particularly the law enforcement - have to address the new challenges of the urban growth such as the changing composition of the local communities and the new threats posed by organized crime and terrorism.
According to the Director of UNICRI, Ms. Cindy J. Smith, “Lack of trust, mutual respect and dialogue among institutions and civil society create a fertile ground for criminal and extremists groups and increase vulnerabilities of urban population, in particular young people, minors, women and elderly. Urban security threats have increasingly highlighted the need for a greater combination of top-down norms with bottom-up approaches paving the way for new innovative, cost-effective resilience strategies and sustainable people-centered responses.”
In this respect law enforcement officials play a pivotal role in working with communities to prevent and control crime. Particularly effective are policing approaches that encourage consultation and collaboration with citizens. Community policing enhances problem solving and community trust. This is especially effective for police responses to under-reported crimes, in particular domestic violence and other forms of violence against vulnerable population. A police agency that embraces community policing can balance the more conventional reactive responses with proactive efforts that encompass early intervention, prevention, and treatment.
Experts in the meeting are presenting and sharing information on promising practices and lessons learned on community policing models developed and adapted at the national level in different countries. Law enforcement representatives are providing an overview of their community policing programme, the main challenges addressed and the most important achievements. A special session of the meeting will be dedicated to youth gangs and violent extremism.
The outcomes of the meeting will lay the basis for the elaboration of the technical guidance tool on Effective Community Policing Strategies to Enhance Urban Security to assist requesting Member States in setting up community policing programmes.
During the meeting the Director of UNICRI, Ms. Cindy J. Smith, said: "Lack of trust, mutual respect and dialogue among institutions and civil society create a fertile ground for criminal and extremists groups and increase vulnerabilities of urban populations, particularly among young people, minors, women and elderly."
She added, "Urban security threats have increasingly highlighted the need for a greater combination of top-down norms with bottom-up approaches paving the way for new innovative, cost-effective resilience strategies and sustainable people-centered responses. Urban stakeholders, especially local institutions have to address the new challenges of urban growth, particularly the threats posed by organized crime and terrorism. We have to rapidly adapt to urban growth and be able to design and implement effective models to address new threats and needs."