Crime Prevention policies aim to improve quality of life

The International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC)

The International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) is an international forum and resource centre dedicated to crime prevention and community safety. It was founded in 1994 to promote the exchange of ideas and knowledge on crime prevention and community safety and share the knowledge between all prevention stakeholders. The members of the Centre include national and regional governments and cities, international organisations, non-government organisations, research centres and professional organisations all involved in prevention, and brings together crime prevention stakeholders from across the world. It was founded in close partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme
(UN-HABITAT) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Crime is very unevenly distributed throughout the world

While the analysis is based on broad international comparisons, it should be recognised that crime is very unevenly distributed throughout the world. Some of the findings include:

• Certain countries, such as Guatemala, have homicide rates which are higher than 30 per 100,000 population, whereas in many other countries, such as those in Western Europe or Southeast Asia, homicide rates are more than 10 times lower.
• Important disparities are also observed between and within regions: Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Mauritius have homicide rates lower than 3 per 100,000 population, far lower than those in South Africa.
• Within a country, discrepancies can be significant: for example in Colombia, the city of Tunja (population 150,000) has a rate of 7 homicides compared with 128 in the city of San José del Guaviare (population 50,000).
• Finally, within cities, homicide rates can vary significantly from one neighbourhood to another. In neighbourhoods of Rio de Janeiro, for example, rates vary from 2 to 12 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

In 2010, public policies in prevention go beyond reducing crime

Approaches to crime prevention has developed over time and are reflected in different United Nations resolutions and in practices and policies implemented around the world. The emphasis is not only on how crime can be reduced but also on crime policy can be used to maintain and reinforce social cohesion of communities themselves to collectively act and to improve their quality of life.

In this 2010 edition of the International Report, ICPC chose to examine three issues in particular that pose a growing problem for the safety of communities, and we observe some change - albeit sometimes modest - in public policies in terms of a greater willingness to take account of the needs of individuals and groups, and not restrict policy to the application of criminal law:

• The relationship between migration and safety includes victimisation, marginalisation, and discrimination against many migrants - both internal and international migrants - and particularly in the context of clandestine migration or displaced persons. Beyond the criminalisation of irregular migration, a number of initiatives try to build awareness among vulnerable populations about the risks involved, promote development in countries of origin, reduce racism, and promote the integration of migrants in their host regions.
• Countering organised crime has long been dominated by tough approaches against transnational trafficking, as well as the reinforcement of international cooperation. Here again, some initiatives now aim to evaluate the impact of organised crime on local communities and strengthen the mobilisation and resilience of communities, in order to impede the supply of arms or drugs to neighbourhoods, the recruitment of young people into criminal networks, or corruption. The prevention of human trafficking also requires building awareness among vulnerable groups to the potential dangers.
• Finally, some evolution in strategies aimed at drug and alcohol abuse can be observed: purely repressive approaches are being questioned - notably the criminalisation of addicted people. Measures for reducing drug-related risks, for the non-criminal treatment of consumption, as well as different initiatives for managing the consequences of alcohol consumption in public places are now more widely used.

Document type: Research