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The purpose of the paper is to explore some dimensions of the community policing strategy of the Slovene police, which emphasizes establishment, reinforcement and maintenance of good relations with local communities and new organized ways of setting of priorities in crime prevention and provision of local safety at the local level (i.e. local safety councils). In addition, the paper seeks to present the development of local safety and security efforts in Slovenia based on ideas of making local communities responsible and on partnership in setting priorities in safety/security efforts, prevention of everyday criminal offences and public disorder.

The authors have conducted a study on a sample of 178 representatives of local safety councils in several Slovenian towns. The study focused on the functioning of local safety councils in Slovenia and dealt with advantages and obstacles related to the work of such councils. The authors also reflected on the councils within a broader concept of democratisation and inclusion of citizens in crime prevention and partnership‐oriented local problem solving.

Findings show the development of some dimensions of community policing safety, especially democratic ways in setting priorities in local safety and crime prevention efforts. Despite some obstacles, the main advantages of such councils are as follows: democratisation of formal social control and control over the police; cooperation of (responsible) citizens and knowing one another; development of more active cooperation between all local key persons; facilitating of “safety consciousness” and discussions on local problems and “communities that care” mentality.

The present research used both quantitative and qualitative approaches, which gave a relatively clear overview of the situation studied. A possible problem in studying priorities in crime prevention and safety provision can be related to the population, which attended the local safety council meetings. They do not necessarily represent the public opinion of local citizens but opinions of local élites dealing with crime and public security issues.

The main implications of the paper for policy makers and practitioners are challenges to the further development of local crime prevention efforts, which should be based on partnership, good knowledge (information‐ and knowledge‐based decision making), clear rules or legal framework, financing and accountability.

The paper presents the first such study conducted in a post‐socialist country, and presents some ideas for the development of common efforts in local (communal) crime prevention and efforts for a safer life in local communities.

Why have multi‐agency or “partnership” approaches to crime prevention and community safety been reported internationally with unfavorable results? Can groups and individuals from disparate government and non‐government sectors work together to reduce or prevent crime? This article will address these and other questions by using developments in Belgium as its case study. In 1992, Belgium launched its “safety and crime prevention contracts”, a series of locally based crime prevention initiatives which have attempted to contract federal, regional and local governments to a range of social and police oriented crime prevention endeavors. Traces the development of the Belgian crime prevention contracts and examines the difficulties experienced with “multi‐agency crime prevention” and suggests that much of the political rhetoric in Belgium calling for local, community and intersectorial “partnerships” has, like several other countries including England and Wales, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, lacked clear practical expression. However, some promising initiatives indicate that this prevention approach may be capable of producing effective crime prevention and community safety outcomes. Further research is needed to describe these initiatives and analyze the conditions under which they are developed.

This article describes the recently introduced model of participatory crime prevention in Greece. The initiative results from dissatisfaction with traditional penal policy, increasing crime, the fear of crime and other social changes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the local dimensions of the “crime decline”.

Two focus groups and 15 semi-structured interviews with local practitioners.

Some offences have fallen significantly in the case study site in the last ten to 12 years. Local practitioners tended to explain these declines with reference to local services and programmes. These declines have potentially contributed to the reduction in crime prevention infrastructure and there is concern that funding will be reduced as crime falls.

The findings have been generated from a single case study site. While aspects of the findings resonate beyond the case study area, there are some characteristics of the site that limit the application of the findings to other areas.

The findings from this research have few practical implications. The research sought to understand dimensions of local crime and the impact on local activities.

This research provides some insights into crime trends and local responses to crime. The findings will be of interest to crime prevention and community safety practitioners and policy makers.

There has been little analysis of the impact of the “crime decline” on local communities and community safety infrastructure. Therefore this paper is original and adds to the growing knowledge of the “crime decline”.

The purpose of this paper is to respond to the need for comparative studies on methodologies for implementing Crime Prevention through Urban Design and Planning (CP-UDP) at the local level, particularly in peripheral Europe where CP-UDP’s top-down standards have poor dissemination and acceptance. This paper debates how local partnerships can help reduce crime and how a CP-UDP-based model can be introduced into municipal planning.

The paper discusses the challenge of CP-UDP in the framework of a post-crisis Europe and Europe 2020. Because there is a large gap between theory and practice, lack of a shared holistic approach, and scepticism, or lack of knowledge, of public authorities, at local-level planning professionals and the police have devised bottom-up initiatives based on interdisciplinary partnerships with the community. The paper describes, discusses and compares the implementation of such approaches in Lisbon (Portugal) and Vilnius (Lithuania).

The paper addresses the processes and challenges of establishing synergies and working relationships between police officers, public officials and the community, and it discusses six main causes for its (un)success. When these conditions were met, crime and social constraints reduced.

Lessons learned are deemed crucial to disseminate knowledge and best practices, paving the way for proper top-down policies and planning legislations in these and other countries.

This paper analyses the potentialities and shortcomings of local-level implementation of CP-UDP strategies as an alternative to failed top-down strategies in two realities mostly unknown of the international scientific community. The case study material is previously unpublished internationally.

This article traces the development of ideas and policies linked to the shifting definitions of crime reduction, prevention and community safety. The conceptual changes are often difficult to define due to imprecision and breadth. Community safety is sufficiently broad to be concerned with a range of harms and hazards beyond crime and disorder, which may become the focus of the emerging new forms of government.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss citizen participation in crime prevention in Kuching, Malaysia. This is a study of how citizen participated in crime prevention has helped in crime reduction in Kuching. Roles of citizen in crime prevention with the police have been included in this study. Result showed that citizen and police joint crime prevention has succeeded in crime reduction in Kuching.

Three methods of data collection were used in this research study: first, face-to-face interviews of 500 head of households in Kuching. They are selected using systematic sampling among the 159,000 households in Kuching. Second, in-depth interviews of 36 respondents involving community leaders and crime watch groups; and third, secondary crime statistics from the Royal Malaysia Police. It is based on actual crime reported to the police.

Police and citizen involvement in crime prevention are effective in reducing crime. Citizen participation in crime prevention was 80.6 per cent. The higher the frequency police and citizen involvement in crime prevention patrols, the lesser the level of crime. With increased joint patrol by police and citizen in the neighbourhood, the level of crime will be lower, and safety will improve, and this is particular valid in the case of the nine geographical areas covered under Kuching police district.

This study focused on citizen participation in crime prevention in Kuching police district only.

Police and citizen participation in crime prevention play a key role in crime reduction. This study argued that police and citizen frequent patrol will improve safety in the community. Training plays a key role for citizen to participate in crime prevention. Joint crime prevention patrol calls for a new breed of police officers who can work with the citizens. In return, the citizens trust the police to lead them in crime prevention.

With citizen participation in crime prevention, the community will be safer, peaceful resulting in less crime. Citizens acted as an eye and ear to the police. As and when a citizen see a suspicious person in the neighbourhood, he informs the police. When the police arrives, the suspicious person who may have a criminal intent will either be arrested by the police or escaped before the police arrived.

This paper provides an insight into crime prevention exercise involving the citizens. The same concept can be implemented throughout Malaysia. Police needs to involve citizens always in crime prevention. Police and the community are one big family.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on local safety map creation education activities for crime prevention and to quantitatively identify the relationships between the elements that determine the expected effects of local safety maps.

In order to clarify the effects following and the significant factors involved in creating local safety maps, questionnaire surveys were given to participants in map-creation activities held in Kitakyushu City, Japan. The results were analyzed with structural equation modeling.

The results showed that safety maps may improve an understanding of the characteristics of dangerous and safe places, but they may not enhance knowledge of places sufficiently for someone to ask for help if they are in danger or are likely to be a crime victim. Of the factors most important in both the creation and effectiveness of safety maps, intergenerational exchanges and communication rank the highest, as they relate to an understanding of safety and crime prevention, and to familiarity with the region.

In the future, we should establish a system and design for safety map creation in which intergenerational discussion and communication with various people, including university students, is possible.

Although the production of local safety maps has been said to improve participants’ abilities, it was unclear who gained abilities in the map-making process to the extent to which the participants could effectively produce the maps. This paper discovered the effects and the significant factors involved in map creation.

Belgium has experienced widespread change in its public sector. The author describes the structure of community safety provision that has resulted. This article describes research conducted in 4 Belgian cities. It argues for a conflict‐accepting model of partnership where the differing philosophies of the constituent agencies are accepted and where human creativity is respected. Such a model will reduce the problem of differential power relations that can lead to the exclusion of some social groups.

The purpose of this study is to identify the principal determinants associated with becoming a volunteer in crime prevention programs.

Data were collected from citizen surveys in a medium sized city located in the West region of USA. The data contained 574 city residents and 264 volunteers. Binomial logistic regression analytical technique was employed to examine the relative contribution of three categories of explanatory variables – demographic background, neighborhood contextual factors, and political viewpoints – on becoming a police volunteer in community crime prevention.

The primary finding suggests that gender was a significant predictor of participation in police volunteer work. With respect to cognitive factors, the character of citizen perceptions of crime problems in their neighborhoods mattered considerably. Similarly, citizens' political orientation was another important variable among cognitive factors.

Study findings are based on surveys of citizen perceptions of police programs from a single mid‐sized city. Results cannot be generalized to all US cities.

This study provides police administrators and academic scholars with research‐based information on several unanswered questions associated with participation in police volunteer work.