Rethinking Urban Security: IcARUS at Efus’ Security, Democracy, and Cities conference

The 8th edition of Efus’ Security, Democracy & Cities Conference took place in March in Brussels, Belgium. Over three days, the conference served as a platform for discussing urban security and crime prevention challenges faced by European cities and regions. The IcARUS project played a pivotal role in this dynamic gathering.

What is the Efus’ Security, Democracy, and Cities conference? Organised every three years, Efus’ international conference brings together hundreds of urban security stakeholders from all over Europe, as well as its international partners, to reflect on current issues and the evolving approaches to crime prevention. How do we create cities where all citizens feel free and safe ? How do we improve coexistence and reduce polarisation? How do we react to the multiple crises affecting citizens at the local level? How can cities respond to drugs and trafficking? How do we build trust between citizens and public institutions? These are some of the questions that were discussed in this edition of the conference in Brussels. The 2024 edition of the Security, Democracy & Cities conference was held by the Brussels Region (safe.brussels) in Belgium. Previous conferences were held in Nice (2021), Barcelona-Catalonia (2017), Aubervilliers-Saint Denis (2012), Saragossa (2006), Naples (2000), Paris (1991) and Montreal (1989). Learn more here!

Highlights of IcARUS’ involvement

Representatives from the six partner cities – Lisbon, Nice, Riga, Rotterdam, Stuttgart, and Turin – took centre stage to pitch their developed tools. These tools, forged through collaborative efforts and innovative thinking, promised novel approaches to address contemporary urban security challenges.

IcARUS partners contributed their expertise to various thematic sessions, enriching the conference with diverse perspectives and insights.

• Daniel Trottier addressed Communication, transparency, fake news, and social media.
• Daniel Gatica-Perez delved into Technology and AI’s role in urban security.

Monica Diniz, Head of Prevention, Security and International Relations, City of Lisbon, presented on Cities and local police forces, Collective youth violence and urban gangs.

For more than three years, the IcARUS project has been experimenting with a design thinking methodology to involve key players in the definition, development and demonstration of tools adapted to end-user needs. This experimentation has enabled partners to identify the advantages and limitations of this methodology in the field of urban security, and to propose an updated methodology better adapted to local security challenges.

Conducted by IcARUS partners, Massimo Fattori (Erasmus University), Maud Ridoux and Violette Simeon (Makesense), the session on “How to apply an innovative approach to solve urban security challenges” offered participants the opportunity to carry out a practical exercise using the IcARUS methodology on the theme of “the challenge of recidivism” with hands-on exercises.

What is the IcARUS methodology? The IcARUS methodology is a creative, human-centred approach to problem-solving, inspired by design thinking and the design approach. It seeks to better understand users and their unmet needs, challenge assumptions and redefine problems with experts and practitioners from different fields in a co-creative way in order to find innovative answers that are sometimes not obvious, and to strengthen local partnerships. The IcARUS methodology enables participants to reflect on how to transform the development of initiatives, services, processes and strategies by local authorities to meet their urban security challenges.

In addition, members of the IcARUS Expert Advisory Board (EAB) and the Consultative Committee of Cities (CCC) shared their invaluable insights and experiences:

• Patrick Charlier (UNIA) focused on preventing discriminatory violence.
• Werner Vanherle (Mechelen) presented its local prevention model and showcased effective strategies implemented at the grassroots level.

The IcARUS project’s participation underscored its commitment to fostering collaboration, innovation and knowledge exchange among stakeholders invested in enhancing urban security. By showcasing practical tools, engaging in insightful discussions, and promoting its collaborative problem-solving methodology, IcARUS continues to be at the forefront of rethinking crime prevention strategies.

The IcARUS podcast series

The conference was also the occasion to record three podcasts with the IcARUS partners, offering in-depth insights into pressing urban security issues and innovative solutions.

Learning from the Past: 30 Years of Crime Prevention and Urban Security

Joined by André Vervooren, Director, City of Rotterdam and Adam Crawford, Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at the University of York, this podcast explored the evolution of crime over the past three decades. The conversation emphasised the need to rethink security strategies in light of changing societal contexts and highlighted the IcARUS project’s comprehensive review of urban security developments, encapsulating key trends, lessons learned and knowledge gaps.

Key Learnings with regards to Innovation
Featuring Monica Diniz, Head of Prevention, Security, and International Relations at the City of Lisbon, and Andrew Wootton, Professor of Human-Centred Design Innovation at the University of Salford, this podcast delved into the innovative approaches promoted by the IcARUS project. The conversation highlighted the crucial role of innovation, not just in terms of technology but also in social adaptations, to address contemporary urban security challenges effectively. This was illustrated by the Jovem Design Lisboa (JDL), a design-oriented approach to engage young people in community safety, developed in the framework of IcARUS.

Advancing Urban Security with the support of Technology
Staņislavs Šeiko from the Riga Municipal Police and Ravinithesh Annapureddy from the Idiap Research Institute led a discussion on leveraging technology to enhance urban security. They explored technological solutions and citizen engagement in co-creating security solutions, in particular the Par drošu Rīgu! (For a safe Riga) tool which provides an evidence-based approach to modifying and adapting district/neighbourhood policing tactics by analysing quantitative and qualitative data together.

Additional podcasts on the prevention of radicalisation leading to violent extremism, organised crime and more will be released in the coming months! Stay tuned for their publication!

For more details on the conference, please visit Efus’ website.