 | Urbanisation leads to higher crime numbers 03-10-2007 Crime has been on the increase in the world's cities and now has affected
more than half of urban residents in developing countries, UN-Habitat, the UN
agency for human settlements, said in a report. The report ‘Enhancing urban
safety’ found that global crime rates increased by some 30 per cent between 1980
and 2000, the equivalent of more than 3,000 extra crimes per 100,000 people.
In the last five years, 60 per cent of city residents in developing countries
have fallen victim to crime, the report said, attributing the trend mainly to
rapid and chaotic urbanisation. "Urban violence and crime are increasing
worldwide, giving rise to widespread fear and driving away investment in many
cities," said UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon.
This is especially true in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. In Latin
America, where 80 per cent of the population is urban, the rapidly expanding
cities of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Caracas account for more
than half of violent crimes in the respective countries.
The UN report noted, however, that there was a decline in urban violence in
North America and Western Europe. Still, more than half of urban residents in
both rich and poor countries worry about crime “all the time” or “very often”.
Source: City Mayors LinksOrder the report ‘Enhancing urban safety’ on the UN-HABITAT website back |
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