Crime Prevention

Assessment Tool
What is philosophy of this Crime Prevention Assessment Tool?

• Is joint assessment tool developed by UNODC and UN-HABITAT

• Is designed as a full component of the Criminal Justice
Assessment Toolkit (CJAT) developed by UNODC since 2006
• It should be used in conjunction with the main toolkit

 This tool is a first crucial step in the direction of more integrated

and effective responses by the international community to the
challenges of crime prevention
What is Crime Prevention?

Crime Prevention…“comprising strategies and measures that seek to

reduce the risk of crimes occurring, and their potential harmful effects on
individuals and society, including fear of crime, by intervening to influence their
multiple causes.” (UN Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime, 2002)

• Crime and violence have multiple causes (social, economic,

environmental factors…) and many actors can impact crime
levels
• Criminal Justice System alone is not sufficient to prevent crime
• Strategies for preventing and reducing crime and victimization
must be pro-active (as opposed to reactive)

 Crime prevention is a multi-sectoral and integrated endeavour

Why assess crime prevention needs?

“In matter of justice and the rule of law, an ounce of prevention is worth
significantly more than a pound of cure… prevention is the first imperative of
justice.” (Report of the Secretary General, the rule of law and transitional
justice in conflict and post-conflict societies. Doc. S/2004/616 §4)

• Crime affects the quality of life of citizens, destroys social and

human capital, discourages investment, and undermines
development and democracy
• It’s not sufficient to increase the efficiency and capacity of the
justice system or to train the police and prison staff

 Well-planned strategies and programmes can be cost-effective,

and cost-beneficial
What the assessment tool is for?

It’s a dynamic tool to enable United Nations agencies, donor

organizations and governments, national government officials involved in
crime prevention development, and other organizations and actors to:

• Undertake an assessment of crime prevention needs

• Identify areas requiring technical assistance
• Assist agencies to design interventions which integrate the
United Nations standards and norms on crime prevention
• To assist in training on these issues

 To assess the immediate, short-term, medium, and long-term

needs and priorities of a country
But… What is it?

The assessment tool is not designed as a rigid guide or checklist, but as

the basis for developing an initial contextualized assessment

• Based on a set of questions concerning issues such as existing

socio-economic and crime concerns, data sources, problems and
capacities
• It provides examples of the range of issues to be covered
• It provides examples of the key players who need to be
consulted (e.g. federal or central, sub-regional and local
authorities)

 It’s a practical guide for assessors examining crime prevention

needs at the national and local levels
How to undertake a crime prevention assessment?

1) To assess needs and priorities, the basic questions in the

assessment tool look at:

• Where are responsibilities for crime prevention located?

• What stage a country has reached in developing its prevention capacities?
• What exists already in terms of components of a strategic approach (laws, policies,
departmental responsibility, funding, training, monitoring system, etc.)?
• What are the major crime concerns which the country has, or wishes to tackle?
• What are the main vulnerable populations at greatest risk of crime and victimization?
• What are the main areas of concentration of crime problems (rural, urban…)?
• What are the main urban concerns affecting the incidence of crime?
• What are the main rural concerns affecting the incidence of crime?
• What is the existing capacity to develop and sustain strategic crime prevention?
• What exists in terms of recent or current technical assistance?
How to undertake a crime prevention assessment?

2) To answer… the assessment tool outlines a series of 10 overall areas

of investigation:

• Country overview information – including data sources and legal frameworks

• Existing national prevention frameworks and capacities
• State of provincial strategies and capacities
• Local strategies and capacities
• Research and knowledge base
• Partnerships and coordination capacities
• Sustainability, monitoring and evaluation
• Specific crime concerns and issues
• Specific vulnerable groups
• Management and coordination

 Each area lists a series of questions to guide the assessment process

How to undertake a crime prevention assessment?

3) …and suggests referring to:

• A list of key resources (annex A)

• An assessor’s guide and checklist (annex B)
• Criminal Justice Assessment Toolkit (CJAT) on Policing,
Access to Justice, Custodial and Non-Custodial
Measures, Cross-Cutting Issues
• The Introduction section to the CJAT (especially…)
– Using the Tools
– General Guidelines for Conducting Assessments
What norms and standards to apply to crime prevention?
1) In practice, action plans have to distinguish two levels and must respect the use of:
(1995 UN guidelines for Cooperation and Technical Assistance in the Field of Urban
Crime Prevention)

• A local approach to problems including the use of:

– A local diagnostic survey or safety audit of crime problems
– Identifying relevant actors who should be involved
– Setting up local consultation mechanisms
– Developing possible solutions to respond to local problems identified

• An integrated crime prevention action plan which should:

– Define the type and nature of crime problems and their causes
– Set out the objectives to be achieved in a given time scale
– The action envisaged and who should be responsible for implementing the plan
– Consider all the actors to be involved apart from the justice sector, from elected officials,
social workers…
– Consider the relevance of crime prevention for each of these sectors
– Consider primary prevention action and the prevention of recidivism and protection of victims
What norms and standards to apply to crime prevention?

2) The guidelines also spell out the range of approaches to crime prevention:

• Social development and community-centred prevention

• Situational approaches
• Social reintegration

 Prevention encompasses a wide range of approaches including

social development, community integration, urban renewal and
situational prevention and reintegration
What norms and standards to apply to crime prevention?

3) The guidelines 2002 outlines eight basic principles on which crime prevention action
should be based:

• Government leadership
• Socio-economic development and inclusion
• Cooperation and partnerships
• Sustainability and accountability
• Knowledge base
• Human rights/rule of law/culture of lawfulness
• Interdependency
• Differentiation

 Fundamental to the development of crime prevention strategies is the

existence of the rule of law, and recognition of the human rights of individuals,
and the uses of policies which are inclusive of all sectors and groups in society
Key areas of an assessment
Overview
• Statistical background data: What is the population size? What is the rate of growth?
Democratic profile? Corruption at government and institutional levels?...
– Refers to Cross-Cutting Issues (CJAT)
– The Human Development Index (HDI) and the Gini coefficient can be used

• Data source & crime prevention performance indicators: Does the national government
or/and local authorities have/use information about numbers of crimes reported to the
police? Violence-related injuries and deaths by hospitals? Reported levels of fear and
insecurity?...
– It’s important to validate figures against other data sources (The ICVS, IVAWS, local safety
audits…)
– See also Cross-Cutting Issues/ module 3: Victims and Witness

• Legal and regulatory framework: Has the country enacted any legislation or policy on
crime prevention? Are there any departmental guidelines?...
– It may be useful to consult internal or external legal, advocacy groups, non-governmental
organizations…
– CJAT Cross-Cutting Issues/ module 1: Criminal Justice Information & Introduction/ Annex on
Comparative Legal Systems
National crime prevention framework & capacities

Moving towards a less centralized model, using a problem-solving

approach, with local communities and working to gain their trust, will all
increase their ability to prevent rather than repress crime

• National Strategy: What is the national government role in crime

prevention? Is there a national proactive strategy?...
– UN guidelines recommend of a National Crime Prevention Strategy
• National Infrastructure: Which ministries have responsibility for
crime prevention/safety and security? Does the private security
sector have a major role?...
– CJAT Police/ modules 1: Public Safety & Police Service Delivery and 2:
The Integrity and Accountability of the Police for further information on
policing
Regional/State/Provincial crime prevention strategies & capacities

States or provinces (in federal countries) or provincial/regional entities

(in non-federal countries) may have some authority for crime prevention and
safety issues

• Does any state/province have a crime prevention policy or

strategy? How are they funded and supported? Who are the key
actors with responsibility for the strategy and its implementation
and evaluation?...
Local crime prevention strategies & capacities

Some cities or urban areas may have initiated their own crime
prevention strategies and programmes

• Do any cities have a crime prevention policy or strategy? Does a

local diagnosis and consultative mechanism exist? Who is
involved?...
– Many of the questions for other levels of government should also be
asked to the local level actors and authorities, depending on the level of
decentralization in each context
Research and knowledge base
The existence of reliable base-line data and research, and information on good
crime prevention practices, are both important in developing and adapting relevant
programmes which target causal factor
– A guidance on Local Safety Audits. A Compendium on International Practice, (by
European Forums for Urban Safety and the Government of Canada, 2007)
– Cross-Cutting Issues/ module 1: Criminal Justice Information & Custodial and
Non-Custodial Measures/ module 3: Alternatives to Incarceration (CJAT)

• Research: Which institutions/agencies at national, state or local level conduct

research on crime, health and social problems? Is there any research on the
crime and root causes of violence, common crime and organized crime (drug
trafficking, trafficking in persons)?...

• Training and skill development: Are there any training institutions

university/educational centers offering syllabi on crime prevention/community
safety, recidivism prevention…? Do all relevant stakeholders receive ongoing
training in their respective capacities?...
Partnerships and coordination

Partnerships form a central aspect of the UN Guidelines for crime

prevention. They entail partnerships horizontally across government
departments, vertically between levels of governments, agencies, UN entities,
civil society…

• Are there any measures/mechanisms in place to coordinate the

different activities of relevant government agencies and
ministries dealing with crime prevention? At different levels? Are
there any mechanisms in place to work in partnership with
international donors?...
Sustainability of crime prevention strategies and programmes

Sustaining crime prevention strategies involves a clear institutional

vision and goal-oriented approach

• How much funding is allocated to crime prevention at the

national level (compared to the rest of the criminal justice
sector…)? Is this time-limited or programme funding, or long-
term funding? Are there any public-private partnerships?...
– Cross-Cutting Issues/ module 1: Criminal Justice Information & Custodial
and Non-Custodial Measures/ module 3: Alternatives to incarceration
(CJAT)
Specific crime issues and perception
(Principle of Interdependency)
Different actors may have different experiences and perceptions
regarding relative importance of crime concerns. Insecurity and fear of crime
may be an issue. It’s important to both contextualize crime and identify the
priorities and perceptions of different stakeholders

• Do crime problems relate to border security or transnational

crime affecting local crime conditions? Is there concern about
institutionalized violence? Human trafficking? Is fear of crime
high? Is there insecurity in public spaces?...
Specific groups & specific policies to prevent social exclusion
(Principle of differentiation)
Questions seek to identify if there are significant groups or populations exposed
at high risk of crime and victimization or who are excluded from policies and decision-
making
– Cross-Cutting Issues/ modules 2: Juvenile Justice and 3: Victims and Witnesses & Custodial
and Non-Custodial Measures (CJAT)
– UNICEF/UNODC Manual for the Measurement of Juvenile Justice Indicators

• Are there large numbers of street children? Are there significant problems of
alcohol and drug use by young people? Are women and girls seen as
vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, or trafficking? Are there violent youth gangs?...
• Are there any specific policies at the national, regional, local, level to respond
to unemployment, the needs of street children, war affected children, or to
counter social exclusion? Are there specific policies to prevent recruitment, or
to reintegrate youth gang members?...
Management and coordination

• Overall Coordination: Overall, are there mechanisms which

support coordination vertically between national government and
lowers levels of government, and across sectors including
ministries, institutions, service providers, NGO’s and civil
society?...
• Donor Coordination: Which donors are active in the crime
prevention sector? Do they work with the national government,
state, or local governments? Are any donors targeting white
collar crime or corruption?…
• International Cooperation: Is the country engaged in international
cooperation for the purpose of crime prevention? What has been
the international cooperation experience of the country in the
fields of crime prevention, corruption and trafficking?….
– Cross-Cutting Issues/ module 4: International Cooperation (CJAT)
Thank you for your kind attention