Abstract:Security policies should be designed and constructed around the individual and collective needs of citizens rather than according to public institutions. To do this, citizen participation must be universally promoted and civil society must play a role at all stages of the policy-making process, from conception, to implementation, to evaluation. Efus thus promotes a Strategic Approach to Urban Security in which citizen participation is an important cornerstone.
This presentation will focus on concrete methods and tools to mobilise local communities in the framework of urban security policies as well as the limits of this participation. Efus will present concrete examples based on local practices implemented by its member cities, e.g. French cities’ experiences with citizen councils and citizen participation in community policing or Portuguese cities’ experiences with ICTs providing local and regional authorities with new tools to foster the participation and empowerment of citizens and to provide better services and governance.
Efus is a network gathering 250 cities and regions from 16 European countries and further partners, promoting a balanced approach to urban security that combines prevention, sanction and social cohesion. It supports local and regional authorities in the design, development and evaluation of their security policies.
Vita:Elizabeth Johnston
As Executive Director of the European Forum for Urban Security (Efus), Elizabeth Johnston is responsible for the strategy and development of Efus, in liaison with the Executive Committee, and is in charge of staff management. Since February 2016, she is also Executive Director of the French Forum for Urban Security.
In addition, she is Secretary of the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime, a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Parliament of Mayors and an official associate of the University of Liege (Belgium). Prior to this, and after beginning her career at a French local authority, Elizabeth Johnston served as Programme Director at the French-American Foundation, and as Violence Prevention Expert at the World Bank, in Washington. She holds degrees in Law from Assas University (France), in Political Science from Yale University (United-States) and in Public Policy from Marne-La-Vallée University (France).
Moritz Konradi
As project manager / crime prevention specialist at Efus since 2016, Moritz Konradi contributes to Efus’ work on radicalisation, hate crime, and citizen participation. He holds a degree in political science from Freie Universität Berlin and has completed an MA program in criminology and police science at Ruhr-Universtität Bochum. He has seven years of work experience in crime prevention and victim support.
