Crime and urban insecurity - CPL (3) 6 Part II

Rapporteur: Mr R. Ries (France)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

INTRODUCTION

1. Urban crime and lack of safety are nothing new; they existed in ancient Rome. Our literature is inhabited by the "dens of thieves" of medieval towns and 18th century bands of cut-throats. They are immortalised in the work of Victor Hugo and Eugène Sue -to give examples of just French authors. What is more, the Parisian bourgeoisie of 1900 took good care to halt the metro at the gates to the city in order to protect themselves from the "mob" in the suburbs.

2. These age-old fears are now resurfacing and urban crime and insecurity are a burning issue, a daily concern, a priority subject for research and debate, with local authorities on the front line.

3. There is no denying that the phenomenon is genuine, albeit blown out of proportion by the media and widespread rumours at times. If it is exploited in a demagogic manner, it poses a real threat to democracy by appealing to racist and "reassuring" impulses and calling for a "simplified" form of justice paying no heed to the respect of freedoms and human dignity, for a parallel police force and courts as well as for the supposedly more rigorous and effective central government to step in to replace the local authorities.

4. Why the resurgence? First of all, urbanisation and the drift from the land over the last forty years mean that an ever-increasing proportion of our societies is affected by urban problems. Next, increased mobility in cities means that certain offences are less and less confined to a specific district. Lastly, the recession in our countries has swelled the ranks of the underprivileged and excluded, and the ensuing social disintegration compounds the situation. The rise in the number of drifting, homeless persons, the resurgence of begging in busy thoroughfares, the emergence of new "trouble-spots", such as shopping centres and stations, are the outward signs of these trends.

5. The public, made increasingly aware of harm to persons, damage to property and impairments of the right to move around in complete safety, then looks to the closest tier of government, that is the town council, for those responsible and for remedies. "It's the mayor's fault... It's up to the mayor to come up with solutions, to restore security". The CLRAE, and its Chamber of Local Authorities in particular, is therefore quite right to put the subject on its agenda.

6. It is worth noting from the outset that a lot of research has already been done into urban crime and insecurity. The authorities in big cities have already had to contend with the phenomenon, government authorities have had to deal with it and national and international organisations have carried out studies and held meetings. Specialised international bodies have been set up, notably the European Forum for Urban Safety, which has been remarkably active over several years and has compiled in-depth studies which we neither claim nor intend to replicate.

7. The aim of this preliminary report is more to spur the Council of Europe and its various bodies into paying more heed to the scale of the problem and the serious repercussions it can have and starting to think about its causes and the path we should be taking. It is the first stage of a programme drawn up by the Working Group on Crime and Urban Insecurity, which is set to run over coming months in the hope of providing some answers to a changing phenomenon and sketching a policy for the future.

What are we talking about?

8. The first question is what is urban insecurity and how is it perceived? The difficulty in giving a simple definition stems from the fact that it covers a whole range of factors, from a widespread feeling of unease right up to the specific offences people either experience at first hand or hear about in the news. The coinage incivilité in French denotes antisocial behaviour - by the young and not so young - characterised by a lack of respect for the human and physical environment, leading to clashes and physical and psychological damage, without strictly speaking breaching the law, at the most transgressing the generally accepted rules of life in the community.

9. There are varying degrees of antisocial behaviour but at its most serious it spills over into minor offences and then progresses towards crime. The dividing line between categories is not always clear; nor is it possible to determine at what stage and to what degree a given remedy should be applied, ranging from educational measures to a harsh clampdown via various types of preventive measures. That being said, it is worth pointing to the concept of "urban violence" which is now starting to appear in some statistics and comprises acts of vandalism (destruction of public amenities and public transport, setting fire to cars) and throwing stones at the police or fire fighters -the culprits here are very young inhabitants of working-class districts acting in gangs. This new form of violence, which has been given extensive, if not to say excessive, media coverage especially by the local press, always on the watch for anything amiss, disorientates the various sections of the community concerned, threatens to discredit urban cohesion and equality policies and makes people feel even less safe.

10. In trying to track down the roots of the phenomenon, we come up against an extremely complex situation, though certain aspects can be traced back to social and economic changes over the last thirty to forty years. The downturn in the economic situation which triggered today's serious unemployment crisis upset the lives of millions of people, particularly immigrants who had previously been encouraged or even induced to come to Europe. Because of their number and their concentration in particular areas immigrants' integration and assimilation into urban society is difficult, and both the indigenous population and they themselves react as if they were outcasts, with an ensuing risk of violence and delinquency. The upshot is widespread uneasiness, fear of the future and, particularly in the case of young people, a feeling that prospects are bleak.

11. The undermining of family structures challenges the values and discipline accepted by previous generations, and this includes the privileged classes. Parents' loss of authority and a decline in their sense of responsibility as a result of their being uprooted from the countryside to the city and from overseas to European cities, from a world where beliefs and traditions provided solid frameworks and bearings, contribute to the disorientation of young people, particularly boys. Should we not be asking ourselves here whether the - laudable - efforts by school teachers and out-of-school educators sometimes go too far and actually end up making the family less responsible?

12. Other authorities, especially the churches, which earlier fixed the bounds of individuals' behaviour, giving them bearings, have ceased to fulfil that role for a number of reasons, and this contributes to the moral and civic disorientation of the population at large, and of young people in particular.

13. Furthermore, changes in living environments in the shape of large estates on city outskirts have led to the formation of segregated neighbourhoods and social and ethnic ghettos. It took time to realise what the implications were and by then some of these districts had already decayed considerably and had been caught up in a vicious circle that is becoming increasingly difficult to break.

14. Thus the stage had been set for everything to gradually get worse: social breakdown, failure at school and at work, rise in unemployment, feeling of insecurity among inhabitants, businesses and professionals which then spread to neighbouring districts, and so on.

15. These areas are quite clearly fertile ground, either as the basis for operations or as hideouts, for all forms of delinquency and crime ranging from illegal immigration, vandalism of public property (schools, urban amenities, public transport) and car offences right up to dealing in drugs.

Recent developments

16. A number of recent factors should be added. The problem of "crime and urban insecurity" is in a constant state of flux, as are many others, and all of those responsible, first and foremost the municipal authorities, have to take this into account; otherwise our efforts would only be of historical and academic interest.

17. The upheavals in Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 have prompted substantial population shifts, some more controllable than others, including tourism and business travel, displacement of whole groups, and waves of political and economic refugees, though it is often difficult to draw a distinction between the two. In addition, changes in the countries of the former "Soviet bloc" have gone hand in hand with economic and social disorder and new forms of offences and crime which have spread thanks to the easing of restrictions on free movement and crossing borders.

18. Within those countries central government and local authorities have to deal with all the problems at once and often choose to give economic considerations precedence over social ones. Extremely permissive attitudes and behaviour have also become widespread and militate against the continuing enforcement of the small body of rules and laws which is absolutely essential to normal community life. What is more, the frequent practice of abandoning children imposes a heavy burden on the authorities and may in the long run lead to further delinquency.

19. Another aspect worth mentioning is juvenile delinquency. Disoriented by the weakening of family structures, bearing the full brunt of unemployment and the lack of prospects and tormented, like Tantalus, by the fact that our civilisation lays a feast of goods before their eyes but deprives them of the means to acquire them, teenagers, especially those in suburban ghettos who are immigrants or the children of immigrants, are in constant danger of deviating from the straight and narrow, often just to assert their "dignity" and status as "men". Violence on the television screen also helps to erode the borderline between what is permitted and what is forbidden, especially among the youngest and weakest.

20. Something else which is striking in this regard is that adolescents and children are misbehaving and offending at an increasingly early age. In many cases, the facilities and methods used to deal with them are no longer appropriate. This means that everything - schools, courts and specialised institutions as well the staff - has to be reviewed to attempt to remedy the situation, and to promote the positive achievements of a society that is striving to progress.

21. We should also look into the situation in small and medium-sized towns. Have they been spared? Are they affected and, if so, to what extent?

22. Mention should also be made of drug abuse. The outcome - which we are still awaiting - of the debate on the acceptability of soft drugs will have an effect on crime. The emergence of new drugs, the spread of drug addiction to new categories of users (young people, people who do sport, those who patronise certain entertainment events), drug users' need for money and the criminal ways of meeting that need, distribution channels and networks for laundering "commercial" profits - all this is going on in our cities! On the other hand, we should give some thought to the prospects for and effectiveness of the fight against hard drugs. Prescribing substitutes such as methadone generally reduces the use of syringes which are a major health hazard (Aids). But this does not mean that people are cured of drug addiction and drug dependency.

23. Although they are a matter for central government, or indeed for international police cooperation, acts of terrorism, whether by political or racial extremists or different kinds of fundamentalists, are another factor which increases the public's feeling of insecurity, even if the phenomenon is not long-lasting or widespread.

24. Another subject for consideration is the public's attitude. The degree of tolerance, particularly of antisocial acts and minor offences, varies widely and depends not only on geographical proximity but also on the family of those who commit such offences, the ethnic and religious groups to which they belong and the neighbourhood. They show solidarity when confronted with third parties, in particular representatives of authority, even when they are there to help as in the case of social workers or fire fighters, all the more so in the case of the police. "Cultural" differences with regard to cooperation with the police, ranging from the public-spiritedness which is traditional in the North to the moral taboo on denunciation which prevails in the South, must also be borne in mind.

What can be done?

25. Moving on now to the chapter on solutions, we are confronted with a vast array of studies and proposals. Here too the years have given us an abundance of possibilities and proposals which we are not going to go into here in detail.

26. Suffice it to say that from the very outset we are faced with the problem of who is responsible for what. In principle insecurity and crime are matters for the State, the police, the courts, the education system and so on, although the degree of authority, and therefore local authorities' responsibility, varies from one country to the next. In reality, as we have already seen, in day to day terms - and we really are talking about a daily concern - local authorities are landed with the responsibility and become the key players, although it may mean turning to the state to get certain agencies to intervene and to obtain certain means of action.

27. Their role is particularly important in identifying situations, diagnosing them and intervening directly. These are areas for which they are responsible:

- urban planning, including public transport, street lighting and safety measures at road junctions;

- public amenities, schools, playgrounds, stadiums, swimming pools, socio-educational centres;

- family welfare and assistance policy, also designed to help parents shoulder their responsibilities better;

- maintenance, supervisory and security staff;

- out-of-school social and educational services;

- municipal police.

28. As managers of all or part of the social environment, municipalities play a key role in planning and maintaining the living environment in whole districts, in the case of those most vulnerable to social breakdown.

29. Given their proximity, people see municipal departments as the most approachable and best informed about potential or actual crisis situations. They can also play an effective conciliation and mediation role and thus attempt to prevent tension rising before it becomes necessary to call in the police and the courts.

30. The methods and activities of the courts also need to be given some thought. Provision ought surely to be made for geographical proximity. Neighbourhood courts could take rapid action in districts and suburbs, particularly in cases where there are alternatives to the classic procedures such as conciliation, mediation, compensation and community service. Coordination between the central government and local authorities would obviously be vital.

31. There is wide-ranging scope for voluntary work in all of the above, although this kind of work is not possible without the support, if only financial, of the authorities, primarily the municipal authorities.

32. Mayors are in fact obliged to take the situation in hand, even where they lack the relevant legal powers, if only to bring together those with the authority to act, so as to make their programmes and activities effective by organising and co-ordinating them.

33. Hence the creation in Strasbourg of a municipal body for analysis, coordination and intervention called the Conseil communal de prévention de la délinquance (CCPD), comprising local elected representatives (including the municipal opposition), representatives of state bodies - such as the police, the authorities responsible for the education system, legal protection of young people, youth and sport, social and health affairs, labour and employment, prison administration, and the social action fund - and of the judicial system (including the bar association), the youth council, the foreigners advisory committee, the public transport authorities, social housing agencies, tenants' associations, the business community, doctors' and pharmacists' associations, the media and, under the heading of transfrontier cooperation, the town of Kehl.

34. This initiative is part of a City/State partnership formula used in Strasbourg - "Solidarity - Prevention - Deterrence - Punishment" in descending order of responsibility for the City and ascending order of responsibility for the State.

35. The role of the media has been mentioned several times here in connection with criticisms of their extensive coverage of negative news events and violence. It stands to reason that measures aimed directly at the media cannot be envisaged, since freedom of the press remains a fundamental component of democracy. Consideration might nevertheless be given to improving communication, with the aim of showing how local authorities perceive urban insecurity and crime and highlighting their initiatives to counter such phenomena. This would amount to an invitation to the media, in particular the local press, to take part in the efforts to improve the situation.

The Council of Europe and the CLRAE

36. Is there a special role for the Council of Europe and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe in all of this? Although this is an area which has been extensively researched, the answer is yes.

37. For one thing, the political nature of our organisation makes it possible to take a common approach to the huge problem of urban crime and insecurity and make arrangements for exchanging information and sharing experiences that might be of benefit to local authorities in all member States, in particular those where recent upheavals mean that the political, social and judicial machinery is still being set up or operated on an experimental basis.

38. What is more, the Council of Europe is well placed to keep track of and evaluate trends and to pass on information to all concerned.

39. With this in mind, the Working Group on "Crime and Urban Insecurity" plans to organise a major conference at the beginning of 1997 on the following three themes:

a. a review of the current situation, taking in drug addiction, corruption and general trends, with particular emphasis on the opening to Eastern Europe;

b. new forms of crime and remedies now needed, with particular emphasis on school and out-of-school education;

c. international and cross-border cooperation - cooperation and coordination of local policies, including those concerning the physical and social environment;

40. The Working Group will be able to use the results and conclusions of this conference as the basis for a report to Congress containing proposals for future action, both by the Congress itself and by other Council of Europe bodies.

41. The available statistics are very incomplete and the rapporteur has preferred not to cite figures, especially since the data fluctuate widely depending on their source and the number of offences recorded decreases as their seriousness increases. On the whole, it can be seen that the rise in petty offences outweighs that in serious crime. In France the number of offences grew by about 48% between 1980 and 1993, with increases of 9% for burglaries (12% of the total), 20% for thefts of vehicles (13%), 100% for thefts with violence (1.55%), 104% for thefts of objects inside vehicles (22.5%) and 166% for vandalism (10.4%). In Strasbourg, 54,000 offences were recorded in 1994, of which 28,000 were committed in the street, including 5,600 vehicle thefts and 9,000 thefts of objects inside vehicles.