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

chrizara@panteion.gr

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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19

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