EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Safety Effect Report

Safety Effect Report - Gouda, the Netherlands

Introduction

In the City of Gouda, a Regional Institute for Sheltered Housing (Regionale Instelling voor Beschermd Wonen, RIBW) was established in a quiet neighbourhood. The safety risks that can be expected and the solutions that can be thought of for them have been mapped out with the aid of a safety effect report (VER).

Problem

What consequences with regard to safety can be expected upon the setting up of a RIBW in a quiet neighbourhood and what solutions can be put forward?

Description

The announced arrival of a RIBW resulted in considerable unrest among people living in the vicinity. For this reason, the Municipality of Gouda, together with the DSP-group, ordered the performance of a tailored VER. The district’s original situation, that is to say the ‘objective zero situation’, was mapped out using a number of VER modules. The expected safety effects and the related prioritisation were then considered together with the parties involved, such as housing associations, The Salvation Army, municipal services and welfare organisations. In a second workshop, possible solutions were put forward. For the municipality, these solutions served as input for discussions on the management agreement to be arranged between the various parties.

Results

The zero situation with respect to the safety objective has been mapped.
Support for the setting up of a RIBW has increased.
The municipality is taken more seriously on account of its open attitude.

Lessons learned:

As a municipality, it is important at an early stage to think about the role that you want to play in a process such as this. The regional role matches what citizens expect from a municipality.
Open and timely communication is important in allowing the municipality to maintain support among its citizens.
Employing an impartial third party can help get deadlocked communications going again and help sides come to an agreement about the zero situation.

Contact info

DSP Group
Mr P. Reijnhoudt

Contact info

City of Gouda
Mr J. Bras

Project start date

01/06/2004

Links

DSP Group City of Gouda

Safety Effect Report (PDF, Dut, 170 KB)

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy

Keywords

Security & crime prevention