27 July 1993

43rd plenary meeting

Proposed guidelines for the prevention of urban crime

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling its resolutions 1979/20 of 9 May 1979, 1984/48 of 25 May 1984 and 1990/24 of 24 May 1990 and General Assembly resolutions 45/121 of 14 December 1990 and 46/152 of 18 December 1991,

Recalling also its resolution 1992/22 of 30 July 1992,

Recalling further the Milan Plan of Action, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules), the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines), the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (The Tokyo Rules), the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power and the resolution entitled "Prevention of urban crime" adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders,

Aware of the universal character of urban crime,

Recognizing the usefulness of establishing guidelines to facilitate action on preventing urban crime,

Anxious to respond to the call by many States for technical cooperation programmes adapted to local conditions and needs,

1. Takes note of the proposed guidelines for cooperation and technical assistance in the field of urban crime prevention, contained in the annex to the present resolution, which are aimed at making urban crime prevention more effective;

2. Requests the Secretary-General to disseminate the proposed guidelines for cooperation and technical assistance in the field of urban crime prevention as widely as possible, with a view to their being examined by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at its third session for inclusion in the discussion under item 6 of the provisional agenda for the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, to be held in 1995, which was approved by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1993/32 of 27 July 1993, and then published in the most appropriate form, for example in the Compendium of United Nations Standards and Norms in Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice;

3. Encourages Member States to report on their experiences in elaborating urban crime prevention projects on the basis of the proposed guidelines;

4. Calls upon the interregional, regional and associate institutes cooperating with the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice and non-governmental organizations to submit their experiences in the field of urban crime prevention and to express their observations;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to examine the possibility, taking into account the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme, of coordinating measures for urban crime prevention that may be included in the assistance programmes carried out by other United Nations entities;

6. Also requests the Secretary-General to examine, together with international financial institutions, the possibility of including urban crime prevention measures in their assistance programmes.

Annex

PROPOSED GUIDELINES FOR COOPERATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN THE FIELD OF URBAN CRIME PREVENTION

A. Modalities for the design and implementation of cooperation and assistance activities

1. All cooperation projects for urban crime prevention should comply with the principles set out below.

1. Local approach to problems

2. Urban crime is characterized by a multiplicity of factors and forms - for each case a local approach to the problems to be addressed must be adopted.

This involves:

(a) A local diagnostic survey of the crime phenomena, their characteristics, factors leading to them, the form they take and their extent;

(b) The identification of all the relevant actors that could take part in compiling this diagnostic survey and in crime prevention: public institutions (national or local), local elected officials, the private sector (associations, enterprises etc.), community representatives etc.;

(c) The setting up, from the outset, of consultation mechanisms promoting closer liaison, the exchange of information, joint work and the design of a coherent strategy.

2. Concerted design of a global crime prevention action plan

3. The global crime prevention action plan:

(a) Shall define:

(i) The nature of the phenomena to be tackled (poverty, unemployment, housing, health and education problems, cultural or inter-ethnic conflicts, drugs etc.);

(ii) The objectives being pursued and the time-limits fixed for them to be attained;

(iii) The modalities of action envisaged and the respective responsibilities of those involved vis- -vis the implementation of the plan (national and local resources to be mobilized and resources available through international cooperation);

(b) Shall involve a wide range of fields:

(i) Family, young people and adults, relationship between the generations or between social groups etc.;

(ii) Education, civic values, culture etc.;

(iii) Employment, training, measures for combating unemployment;

(iv) Housing;

(v) Health, drug and alcohol abuse;

(vi) Government and community welfare aid for the least fortunate members of society;

(vii) Combating the culture of violence;

(c) Shall involve a range of actors representing:

(i) The police, the courts, education, housing, health, social workers etc.;

(ii) The community: elected officials, associations, volunteers, parents etc.;

(iii) The economic sector: enterprises, banks, business, public transport etc.;

(d) Shall provide for action on various levels:

(i) Primary prevention:

a. By promoting welfare and health development and progress and by combating all forms of social deprivation;

b. By promoting communal values and respect for fundamental human rights;

c. By promoting civic responsibility and social mediation procedures;

d. By adapting the working methods of the police and the courts (community police and courts);

(ii) Prevention of recidivism:

a. Through modified police intervention (rapid response, within the local community etc.);

b. By modifying methods of judicial intervention:

i. Diversification of modalities of treatment and of measures taken according to the nature and seriousness of the cases (special system for minors);

ii. Systematic research on the reintegration of offenders involved in urban crime;

iii. Socio-educational support within the framework of the sentence, in prison and as preparation for release from prison;

(iii) After the sentence has been served: aid and socio-educational support, family support etc.;

(iv) Protection of victims by practical improvements in the treatment of victims by means of the following:

a. Raising awareness of rights and how to exercise them effectively;

b. Reinforcing rights (in particular the right to compensation);

c. Introducing systems of victim reception, assistance and follow-up.

B. Implementation of the action plan

1. The national authorities

4. The national authorities:

(a) Should provide active encouragement to local actors (information, technical and financial aid etc.);

(b) Should coordinate national policy and strategies with local strategies and needs (possibly by means of contracts between national and local authorities);

(c) Should organize interministerial consultation and cooperation mechanisms.

2. The national and local authorities

5. The national and local authorities:

(a) Should be constantly mindful of respect for the fundamental principles of human rights in promoting these activities;

(b) Should implement training programmes (national and local) to inform and support all the professionals involved in crime prevention (initial training as well as in-service training to accommodate changes in working methods);

(c) Should compare experiences and organize exchanges of know-how;

(d) Should provide for means of evaluating regularly the effectiveness of the strategy implemented and the possible revision of it.