30 September, 2pm CET
A web conference organised by Efus’ working group on Security and innovation
Over the past five to ten years, terrorism and cybersecurity have repeatedly been identified as Europe’s main challenges. Yet, petty crime commonly makes the list as well, largely due to its impact on perceptions of security and quality of life. The CCI project focuses on high impact petty crimes that impact negatively on citizens and their communities — including violent assault, robbery, burglary and misconducts in public spaces — and the feelings of insecurity that such problems can create. The partners developed support tools, resources and guidance material to enable police forces and policy makers in the partner countries to implement effective changes in tackling such high impact petty crime.
Reduced feelings of insecurity are only one potential consequence of high-impact petty crime. The phenomenon of pickpocketing, for example, can have an impact on citizens’ perception of insecurity and tourism; it can be linked to what Europol designates as mobile organized crime groups (MOCG). Petty crime can also take on an international dimension through the transborder movement of perpetrators and stolen goods. Petty crime can both happen in private spaces – through burglaries and property crime – and the public space – through assault, theft or intimidation. On September 30th, from 2pm to 3pm CET, Efus invites you to a webconference to discuss the impact of petty crime on citizens and their perceptions of insecurity. Which local stakeholders should be involved in the development of strategies against petty crime? What is the link between petty crime and organized crime? How to tackle petty crime without risking over-policing? How to involve citizens without risking vigilantism? Sign up to join us in exploring these and other questions:
> Speakers –
- Dorien Stevens, Policy and Strategy Officer, European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN)
- Carlo Cerchi, Chief inspector, Railway Police Brussels / Belgian Federal Police
Efus Working Group on Security and Innovation
In 2018, Efus set up a working group on Security & Innovation that seeks to share reflections and insights on innovative social strategies and technologies that can be applied in urban security and prevention. We understand innovation in urban security as new solutions and new ways of approaching existing and emerging problems. These tools can aim to facilitate the understanding of problems, the definition of solutions, and the implementation and evaluation of interventions. At their core, the innovations are about shifting towards a co-production of urban security policies, both in their development and in their implementation. The research undertaken by the Cutting Crime Impact (CCI) project and the solutions developed by the partner local law enforcement agencies inspired us to launch a series of web conferences in June 2020 – both as a way to disseminate the research and the solutions and as an opportunity to exchange with the Efus member cities and regions. The input from the CCI findings allowed us to go beyond easy narratives that are either exceedingly optimistic or pessimistic – a common pitfall when it comes to polarizing topics such as predictive policing, facial recognition or subjective feelings of insecurity.
