Deputy Mayor for Security, Equality and Diversity and Public Health, City of Dénia (Spain)

Javier Scotto di Tella Manresa has been Vice-President for the Spanish Forum for Urban Security (SFUS) since 2018 and Municipal Councillor for the City of Dénia (Spain), in charge of security, equality, diversity and health since 2015. 

 

Holding a degree in Law from the Public University of Alicante (1999) and a graduate diploma in Procedural Rights (2004), he has been a civil and criminal lawyer (2000-2015), Supplementary Judge for the Valencian Community Administration of Justice (2001-2004) and a Certified Public Accountant for the Administration of Justice (2004-2015). In the Dénia town hall, he is responsible for safety / Covid-19, as well as the carrying out of various police programmes related to tourism and security, police schools, familial mediation, gender-based violence and discriminatory violence. 

 

 

Do you have any specific hopes or predictions for the future of urban security? (What will urban security look like in 30 years? What will be the main opportunities and risks?)

A dynamic, cognitive, multifunctional and transversal urban security, which develops and guarantees the rights and freedoms of citizens, including minorities, and which transforms society’s perception of fear and insecurity. 

 

Risks: getting lost in City/ State jurisdiction, leaving certain groups in society behind, the globalisation of insecurity, the regression of rights due to extremist politics.  

 

Hopes: urban and local security, social progress, co-participation and co-responsibility for all socio-economic stakeholders. 

 

Why do you think it is so important to involve citizens in urban security practice?

Citizens play a fundamental role in security, as they are recipients, but also issuers of this public service. Therefore, citizens influence security’s priorities, the development of projects and the perception of security. For this reason, they also play an important role in police-reform projects.