Rethinking Crime Prevention: IcARUS at Efus’ Security, Democracy, and Cities Conference in Nice

The entire IcARUS consortium participated in the Security, Democracy and Cities (SDC) Conference organised in Nice (France) on 20-22 October by the European Forum for Urban Security (Efus), which brought together some 650 elected officials and urban security stakeholders from 27 countries to discuss urban security issues, present innovative solutions and showcase urban security projects and initiatives.

It was an opportunity for the project’s partners to meet on-site for the first time and continue their collective reflection on building the next steps of the project. The conference was also an opportunity to disseminate the project’s activities and innovative approach to the wider public, which was welcomed with great interest. The IcARUS partners also contributed to some of the conference’s various workshops and sessions.

With the support of their respective teams, Massimo Fattori (Erasmus University), Maud Ridoux (Make Sense), Genny Dimitrakopoulou (KEMEA), and Efus had the chance to lead an interactive workshop session on Design Thinking: an Experiential Session on an Innovative Approach to Urban Security, which gathered an audience of practitioners. This allowed for the presentation of the Design Thinking approach for urban security and crime prevention – the overarching methodology of the IcARUS project. Practical case studies were discussed and issues were framed together with the audience. The workshop generated a rich discussion on the approach, its feasibility and outcomes, and participants were eager to interact and contribute.

• The Leeds team attended numerous workshops and panels. Professor Adam Crawford moderated a panel on Foresight strategies to better protect public spaces and promote urban resilience, which gathered as speakers Hans Crab – Head of Unit, Partnerships and Projects at Brussels Prevention Security (BPS); Peter Van de Crommert – EU Projects Coordinator at the Dutch Institute for Technology, Safety & Security (DITSS); Miila Lukkarinen – Specialist, Safety and Preparedness Unit at the City of Helsinki’s Executive Office, and Marc Léoutre – Policy officer at the Counter-Terrorism Unit of the Directorate General Home Affairs (HOME) of the European Commission. The discussion centred around three questions: How can cities be better prepared to anticipate challenges and risks in public spaces? What should be the role of new technologies in protecting public spaces and how can cities make a democratic use of them? How can cities take into account the diversity of users and better adapt to the constant evolution of public spaces?

• Salzburg University of Applied Sciences participated in the workshop on Tackling polarisation in our cities: tools and practices to foster inclusive and cohesive societies. Professor Markus Pausch presented and discussed recent polarisation processes, actors and de-polarisation strategies on three levels: Structural inequalities need to be reduced; forums for dialogue and participation need to be strengthened; competences for democracy need to be improved.

• The entire team of the Design Against Crime Solution Centre of the University of Salford participated in the Conference. Professor Caroline Davey gave a speech in the workshop Know your problem to solve your problem: innovating tools and methods to address urban security challenges. She spoke about the importance of problem-framing — undertaking research to properly define a problem before trying to develop a solution.

> The minutes of the Security, Democracy and Cities conference workshops are available on Efus’ website in the corresponding Secutopic sections, as well as, for Efus members, on Efus Network.