UNCJIN Crime and Justice Letter, Volume 2, Number 3

Achievements in crime prevention

Urban crime prevention has taken concrete forms in several countries in North America and Western Europe and in Australia and New Zealand. The activities include both social and community development and the reduction of opportunities for offending. Some have been supported by national structures. The community police officers illustrated in the photograph above are an example of such an initiative. Other examples are as follows:

In the 1980s, citylevel community action plans to prevent crime-crime prevention councils, safer cities, community safety plans-were pioneered in countries such as France and Spain. These plans were adopted and developed in other areas, such as England and Wales, the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as New Zealand and south Australia. Cities in the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation, such as Moscow and Volgograd, have developed preliminary plans.
In the 1990s, community action plans to prevent crime were introduced to the seven largest cities of Texas and included in the United States Law Enforcement and Violent Crime Act, which created the President's Crime Prevention Council. A sum of $1 per American per year for five years was agreed for the establishment of partnerships between housing, schools, social services, police, justice and community groups. Pulling American Cities Together (PACT) is another important initiative that uses the same principles for several cities and one State.
In the 1990s, cities in Latin America began to adopt city wide approaches to crime prevention. Mexico City established a commission and launched a public awareness campaign.Cordoba (Argentina) established a city wide approach to the prevention of crime, focused on neighbourhood participation and programmes for youth. Cali (Colombia) developed the Programa Desarrollo Seguridad y Paz (DESEPAZ), which in cludes analysing the epidemiology violence, strengthening institutions of public order, promoting education on peace and living together, and stimulating community action and social development in sectors of high social risk. A programme for the early education of disadvantaged children in Chile has also yielded positive results.

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