Urban Safety and Crime Prevention

Abstract

The theme for this year’s World Habitat Day, is Safer Cities, perhaps in acknowledgment of the growing concern about escalating urban violence, crimeand insecurity amongst residents of cities around the globe. As a worldwidephenomenon, urban violence is believed to have grown by between three to fivepercent a year over the last twenty years, with certain cities showingsignificant variations at different times. According to Habitat’s Global Report onHuman Settlements 1996, ‘violent crime has increased in most cities in recentyears. Homicide, infanticide, assault, rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence now make up between 25 and 30 percent of urban crime in many countries’.