Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
countries to take on the main burden of providing security against outside threats
through standing armies, while safety for the citizens was based on creating more
effective laws, policing and judicial systems to fight against local crime. Although
many of the larger municipalities in some countries are empowered to manage their
own police forces, it is the state, not the local government, that exercises final con-
trol through legislation either passed by provinces or states in federal countries, or
by the national state in unitary political regimes; nevertheless, the governments and
citizens of urban places still have a role to play in keeping crime under control in
their jurisdictions. This review will focus primarily upon the safety problems and
range of policies used by cities of the developed world in the never-ending fight
on crimes against people or possessions, which has led to the development of what
have been called Safe City strategies in many countries during the past 20 years,
with similar ideas applied to areas within cities, leading to Safe Community poli-
cies. Many of these policies may be applicable in other countries, but the continued
existence of corruption, coercion and limited civil rights in some of the less devel-
oped states, as well as totalitarian regimes, mean that the police and judicial systems
are not trusted by large numbers of the population and often contribute to, or largely
ignore, crime. Hence the fundamental issue of reforming these agencies and making
them effective have to be dealt with first, before many of the policies described here
can be successfully implemented. Space constraints also mean that the discussion
mainly focuses on the role that local governments can play in reducing crime, so
only brief sections on societal-based actions to improve safety and security issues
are provided. Most of these problems are primarily dealt with by national or state
governments, although there may be local, urban components.
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Changing Levels of Crime
Throughout history, urban places have usually had higher levels of crime than other
areas and with their increasing size, density and heterogeneity even greater esca-
lations in these rates have occurred. The reasons for high urban crime rates are
straightforward. The wealth of urban places provides attractions and opportunities
for criminals. The greater social disorganization, individual alienation, anonymity,
reduction in community linkages and mobility of people increases the propensity
to crime among some people and made it easier for those who committed criminal
acts to escape detection. All of these features are reinforced by the development of
subcultures in urban populations with behaviours that would be considered devi-
ant by the majority (Turk 1997). In these groups crime becomes a way of life for
those who make the decision to pray on others, or by those who cannot gain access
to legitimate employment. Not surprisingly, urban citizens and governments have
always worried about how to control, or at least reduce, crime, in order to maintain
the safety of its citizens. But the explosion in the size of urban places, the lack of
building and health standards and their inequalities after the Industrial Revolution
exacerbated the safety problems. These conditions led to an increase in crime and
