IcARUS partner KEMEA meets with the municipal police of Vilnius (Lithuania)
Vilnius, Lithuania, June 2023 – Representing the Center for Security Studies (KEMEA), Genny Dimitrakopoulou met with officials of the Public Order department of the city of Vilnius (Lithuania) on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the municipal Public Order department, on 1-3 June, 2023.
Genny Dimitrakopoulou is a Research Associate and Project Manager at KEMEA, a partner of the IcARUS consortium.
The objective of this visit was to discuss how the IcARUS project will advance the capacity of local and regional authorities not only to respond to, but also to prevent crime.
A toolkit for urban security governance
The KEMEA and Vilnius representatives discussed the project’s ambitions and outputs, and in particular the development of a toolkit for urban security governance in the project’s four focus areas – juvenile delinquency; radicalisation leading to violent extremism; reducing trafficking and organised crime, and designing and managing safe public spaces – while taking into account the diversity of stakeholders, the evolution of technology and the digital space, gender issues, and transnational themes.
The toolkit, which will comprise six tools designed by each of the project’s six partner cities (Stuttgart (DE), Riga (LV), Rotterdam (NL), Nice (FR), Lisbon (PT), and Turin (IT)), is currently being developed and tested (dashboard, platform, app, etc.). (More information is available on our social media platforms).
IcARUS and local police forces
The KEMEA and Vilnius representatives also discussed how Municipal Police Forces both contribute to and benefit from the IcARUS project.
They contribute by providing data, expertise and feedback on urban security issues and challenges, and they participate in co-designing and testing innovative solutions for urban security governance that are tailored to their local contexts and needs.
They will also benefit from IcARUS by accessing the toolkit and learning from the best practices and experiences of other partners and stakeholders. Furthermore, the project gives them the opportunity to improve their capacity and skills for urban security governance, and to enhance cooperation and coordination with other actors at the local, national and European levels.
Increased collaboration
The representatives of Vilnius’ municipal department of Public Order expressed their interest in collaborating more closely with the project, notably by participating in all the upcoming events, and in creating synergies with the Municipal Police departments of IcARUS’ six member cities (Stuttgart (DE), Riga (LV), Rotterdam (NL), Nice (FR), Lisbon (PT), and Turin (IT)).
Already, the City of Vilnius, which is an Efus member, participated in the IcARUS dissemination conference in Riga, Latvia, in June 2022.
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