challenges in crime prevention in athens · athens, greece, 24th – 25th november 2016...
TRANSCRIPT
Safer Cities – Crime Prevention through Urban Design, Planning and Management
Final conference of the COST action
“Crime Prevention through Urban Design & Planning”
Athens, Greece, 24th – 25th November 2016
“Challenges in Crime Prevention in Athens today”
Professor Dr. Christina Zarafonitou Director of the Postgraduate Programme of Criminology
& of the Urban Criminology Laboratory
Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences
Panteion University, Athens, Greece
The peculiarity of the Greek capital
in Greece, crime rates have traditionally been smaller in relation to other European countries
the last twenty years, there has been an increase in the number of committed crimes as well as an accentuation of their gravity
main characteristics of this evolution:
the increased use of violence that accompanies property crime (robberies),
the link between organized crime and ‘street crime’ (prostitution, drug use, begging, etc., correlated with trafficking)
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Athens’ urbanisation process
high concentration and great heterogeneity of population due to gradual processes of urbanization of external and internal immigration
absence of urban plan
coincidental policies, social changes, internal rivalries concerning housing
the impact on the physiognomy of Athens and especially its center
the impact of economic crisis
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Fear of crime and neighborhood characteristics
• “Deprived areas”:
broken windows,
graffiti,
litter,
abandoned buildings,
poor lighting of public spaces,
drug use in public spaces etc.
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The vicious circle of transformation of certain areas into ‘unsafe zones’
• Criminal opportunities increase when the daily routine circulation of
the residents and conventional activities decrease:
due to the fear caused by the areas’ bad reputation
due to the perception of ineffective control of crime exercised in such areas
• Abandonment of central areas by their permanent residents
• Settlement of these areas by temporary populations with many social problems
• Loosening of pressure for better public services
• Appearance of activities which give a bad reputation to the area
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Fear of crime in Athens
Research
Rate of fear of crime
Zarafonitou, 1998
58.7%
Zarafonitou, 2004
52.7%
EU ICS 2005
55%
Zarafonitou, Courakis, 2006
56.5%
Zarafonitou, 2010
58,9% Pro
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Aspects of degradation of the quality of life
• environmental degradation
• drug related problems
• prostitution-trafficking
• Uncontrolled immigration
• heterogeneity
• Illegal parallel market
• decline of commercial activity
• delinquency
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Enclaves of the Athen’s center
• Relocation of the traditional residents
• Variable, heterogeneous and unstable population
• Unifunctional social activities
• Emergence of illegal control of the areas
• Signs of poverty
• Conflicts between resident groups
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The special nature of the public space
Public space is defined as opposed to private space
It is perceived :
• as “non-control” and “non-interest” space
• as a space that does not belong to anyone
Consequently it can easily be occupied by different interests
on a case by case basis
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Zarafonitou Ch. and Chrysochoou E., (2015). Are there ghettos in the centre of Athens? Criminological research of social attitudes and representations. In Zarafontiou Ch. (Ed.),
Criminological Studies, vol. 1, MA of Criminology, Panteion University, Athens
Prof.Dr.Ch.Zarafonitou, Safer cities-COST Action,Athens 24-25/11/2016
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1. Kotzia square 2. Theatrou square 3. S. Konstantinou
square 4. Vathis square 5. Victorias square
Foreigners distribution in the area of the District of Attica 44.5%
(population census 2011)
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Research presentation
• 1st stage: on the spot observation of the research areas during the period April to June 2011 & 2013 respectively (from 9 in the morning to 2 in the morning the following day)
• 2nd stage: 100 questionnaires were completed through personal interviews with Greek shopkeepers and residents (20 in each square). The follow-up study has included a small sample of immigrants (27)
• 3rd stage: patterns analysis of their characteristics. The aim was to determine the extent to which the ghettos´ characteristics, as proposed by current scientific theory, appear in the areas under scrutiny.
Prof.Dr.Ch.Zarafonitou, Safer cities-COST Action,Athens 24-25/11/2016
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Findings
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6
13
70
75 75 75
85
50 50
80
75
50
Kotzia Square TheatrouSquare
AgiouKonstantinou
Square
Vathi Square VictoriaSquare
Feeling of the locals that they compose minority
2011 2013
100 100 100 100 100
75 85 100 90 90
High concentration of foreigners
2011 2013
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14
5
50
20
5
20
50 50
55
75
30
40
20 20
50
5 5
Kotzia Square TheatrouSquare
AgiouKonstantinou
Square
VathisSquare
VictoriaSquare
Immigrants' integration in Greek society 2013
Yes No Depends Don't know/ Don't answer
Kotzia Square
Theatrou Square
Agiou Konstantinou Square
Vathi Square
Victoria Square
50
50
55
35
65
90
80
65
60
75
Agreement with the foreigners' integration
(positive answer) 2011 2013
Reported criminality in the area
• Theft of personal belongings in the street and public use of drugs
• Burglaries of cars, homes or shops follow
• Conflicts between immigrants and racial offences reported as a frequent phenomenon in 2011, but in 2013 these reported behaviors have been decreased
• References to bodily harm and assault have increased in 2013.
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100
80
95 95 100
60
75 75
55
63,64
Evaluation of criminality the last 5 years
2011
2013
Prof.Dr.Ch.Zarafonitou, Safer cities-COST Action,Athens 24-25/11/2016
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80
65
40
55
65
60
80 85
75 72,73
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
KOTZIA SQUARE THEATROU SQUARE AGIOUKONSTANTINOU
SQUARE
VATHI SQUARE VICTORIA SQUARE
Victimization
2011
2013
Prof.Dr.Ch.Zarafonitou, Safer cities-COST Action,Athens 24-25/11/2016
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35
50
65
25
36,36
70
70
70
80
70
Kotzia Square
Theatrou Square
Agiou Konstantinou Square
Vathi Square
Victoria Square
Police's Effectiveness (negative evaluation)
2011
2013
Prof.Dr.Ch.Zarafonitou, Safer cities-COST Action,Athens 24-25/11/2016
18
50 50
95
65
75
30
60
70 70
27,28
Kotzia Square Theatrou Square Agiou KonstantinouSquare
Vathis Square Victoria Square
Fear of crime
2011 2013
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90
80
100 100 100
65 65
95 95
40
Degradation of the area according to the local
people
2011
2013
60
35
45
65
30
20 20
40
55
20
Local people's intention to leave from the area
2011
2013
The aspect of the foreigners
• Almost all the respondents reported that they have been victimized
• Most of them feel secure
• Most of them feel intergraded in Greek society
• The criterion of nationality defines the coexistence among different ethnic groups
• They coexist with Greeks
• Their feeling as a minority is varying
Prof.Dr.Ch.Zarafonitou, Safer cities-COST Action,Athens 24-25/11/2016
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The elements of ghettos/Pattern analysis
A) High concentration of a
minority in an urban area
B) Segregation
C) Social disorganization
D) The minority group is treated
by the rest of society as
inferior, foreign, different
E) The factor of the state´s role
A. Overpopulation of an ethnic
minority [+/-]
B. Segregation [+/-]
C. Social disorganization [+/-]
D. Minority group treated as
inferior [-]
E. The factor of the State’s role [-]
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Zarafonitou Ch. (2016) “Physical and social disorder and the fear of
crime in the centre of Athens” (under publication)
• The most frequently reported signs of social degradation are:
• public drug use (96,0%), • beggary (94,6%), • immigrants (94,0%) and
homeless people (90,6%) • trafficking (85,3%), • llegal trade (82,9%), • petty thefts (80,9%) • burglaries (75,5%)
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Zarafonitou Ch. (2016) “Physical and social disorder and the fear of crime in the centre of Athens” (under publication)
• The most frequently reported signs of environmental degradation are:
• closed shops (95,3%), • deserted buildings
(90,4%), • downgraded buildings
and streets (86,3% • graffiti (85,3%) • litter on the streets
(82,6%)
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Challenges in Crime & Insecurity Prevention in Athens today
A. The need of combined measures of a macro-medium and micro-level:
• immigration policy
• upgrading of the Centre of
Athens
• cultural and creative
activities
• crime prevention policy
• appropriate policing
B. The “quality of life policy” with focus on: • the immediate local
environment, • the neighborhood, • the local community
Through the scope of “environmental criminology” • crime prevention through
environmental design • Local Crime Prevention
Councils
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The participation of local communities in preventing petty and medium crime serves as a form of democratisation and offers promising
prospects with respect to preventing crime and insecurity through the improvement of space / environment
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Thank you for your attention