The European Forum for Urban Security, a network dedicated to the security of public spaces
Date: 11/09/2020
Recognised for its expertise by national and European institutions, Efus is a network that represents the diversity of territories and promotes the exchange of experience between local authorities beyond political divisions, according to the principle of “cities helping cities”. Its objectives are as follows :
- To promote a balanced vision of urban security combining prevention, sanctions and social cohesion
- To support local and regional authorities in the design, implementation and evaluation of their local security policy
- To reinforce the role of local elected officials within national and European governance
The principle of co-production and the choice of prevention that underlie Efus’ activities are expressed in the “Security, Democracy and Cities” manifesto. This manifesto is the result of a collective writing and is based on the work conducted by Efus, its members and its entire network (universities, European and international organisations, thematic networks). Efus’ members will renew their commitments during the next “Security, democracy and cities” international conference that will take place in Nice in spring 2021, which will lead to an updated manifesto.
The central issue of public spaces in urban security policies
For over 30 years, Efus has been working on cross-cutting topics linked to urban security such as nightlife, risky behaviours, street violence, violence against women, large events… with the overarching notion of public spaces always at the heart of its reflexion. While citizens occupy these vital areas of urban life for communication, meetings, political demonstrations, artistic and cultural performances and all sorts of entertainment, they are also vulnerable to a multitude of issues: incivilities, conflicts of use between different categories of the population and difficulty to fully secure such places during large gatherings or events, especially against terrorist threats.
These characteristics give public spaces a specific status in the domain of urban security: effectively, they require a security policy that is based on genuine cooperation between the different organisations and institutions concerned (local authorities, local police, emergency services, public spaces agents, private security operators, user representatives…), for instance a co-production of security that guarantees that this type of urban place is both safe and open and accessible for everyone.
The role of local and regional authorities
European cities play a central role in promoting a shared culture of security issues and are confronted with similar challenges regarding their public spaces. They are particularly well-placed to organise the co-production of security with all the relevant stakeholders in order to promote the participation of local communities in the design and management of their public spaces. Furthermore, security practices can be transposed from one city to another across Europe and the sharing of experiences contributes to improving local action but also to creating a collective knowledge.
In this objective, Efus, with the cities of Nice (France) and Madrid (Spain), is coordinating the new partnership on the security in public spaces of the Urban Agenda for the EU, that aims at affirming the role of cities in European security policy on public spaces. Through this three-year partnership, European local and regional authorities, Member States and institutions will work together to strengthen the role of cities in European urban security policies, increase the sharing of knowledge and good practices, and advocate at European level legislative reform and new funding frameworks.
This partnership is in line with the European Commission Action Plan to support the protection of public spaces, according to which “local and regional authorities are [...] important stakeholders in the protection of public space”, whose involvement must be reinforced by promoting dialogue and exchange between national, regional and local authorities and supporting the development of operational projects.*
Developing partnerships to address current issues
As they play a leading role in the reflection on smart cities and on the contribution of new technologies to the security of public spaces, local authorities must maintain their dialogue and partnership with research and industries that provide solutions. In order to provide global and tailor-made solutions to public space issues, local security policies must include local, multi-stakeholder diagnosis.
In this objective, Efus is a partner in a number of european projects that develop security solutions for public spaces, such as the Cutting Crime Impact project on the development of tools for the prevention on crime for local police forces and authorities, and the Secu4All project, which seeks to train and make local local authorities and relevant actors aware of their role in the design, planning and management of public spaces. Efus is also a partner in the PACTESUR and PRoTECT projects, which aim to strengthen local authorities’ capabilities in public space protection against terrorist threats. Within the framework of its activities, the PRoTECT Consortium organised a three days seminar focusing on technological and human-centred solutions to protect public spaces against terrorist threats on 15, 16 and 17 of July.
Efus also coordinates a working group on Security & Innovation, that seeks to harness the opportunities of smart and hyper connected cities to improve crime prevention and urban security. The use of new technologies is particularly important to discuss in order to ensure that local authorities choose the most appropriate technology according to their specific local context and the needs of their population while ensuring that fundamental freedoms are respected. In order to promote the exchange of experiences amongst peers, Efus has launched a new series of web conferences on new technologies in urban security, in order to share prospective reflections and insights on innovative strategies, both in the social and technological realms, that can be applied to urban security.
-----------------------------------
* European Commission, Action Plan to Support the Protection of Public Spaces, COM, 2017