14 Mar 2013

UN / SAFER CITIES

The Safer Cities Programme of UN-Habitat Programme has been accumulating theoretical, and practical knowledge, on urban violence prevention issues for almost fifteen years. Dr. Joan Clos the Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (HABITAT), and mayors from major world cities brief reporters on the outcome statement of the global network on safer cities. UNTV

Posted at: March 14, 2013 5:46 pm

Duration: 02:20

Available in: SD

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STORY: UN / SAFER CITIES 
TRT: 2.20
SOURCE: UNTV 
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SPANISH / NATS

DATELINE: 14 MARCH 2013, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1.	Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

14 MARCH 2013, NEW YORK CITY

2.   Wide shot, dais
3.	Wide shot, audience
4.	SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles:
"In the 90s we were roughly 30 homicides per 100,000. Today we are roughly about 7 and I believe and believe strongly, that one of the reasons why we are safer is because we believe in constitutional policing, from the top to the bottom. We train our officers that way. We believe that nobody is above the law; not a politician, not a priest, or a police officer."
5.	Close up, Mayor Bilal Hamad of Beirut
6.	SOUNDBITE (English) Joan Clos, Under-Secretary-General, and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat):
"The improve of safety in the most relevant American cities, has been, is in fact, in the world press as how, as proof that changing the methodology, changing the approach to safety issues, improving with prevention is very important. And I think that, you know, community involvement, taking care of public spaces, this change of mentality, of strategy towards urban security is what is bringing worldwide positive results."
7.	Med shot, Mayors of Matosinhos, and San Salvador
8.	SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Gustavo Petro, Mayor of Bogota:
"It is necessary to have a citizen disarmament. Bogota did that the 1st of January of last year and it has been a success. The data shows it has been a success. Disarming instead of arming, something to be debated worldwide. Second, drugs, we believe that the use of drugs regulated by the State, that the acceptance of the right of the user to consume drugs freely, is part of an urban security policy that could diminish harm and substantially decrease violence criminality indexes."
9.	Med shot, journalist
10.	Wide shot, end of press conference

STORYLINE:

The Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, said today (14 March) at the United Nations, that one of the reasons for the dramatic decrease in criminality in LA has been a belief in "constitutional policing, from the top to the bottom."

Noting that since the 1990s there has been a decrease from "roughly 30 homicides per 100,000" to "about 7" today,  Villaraigosa said officers are trained to avoid abusing authority.

He said "nobody is above the law; not a politician, not a priest, or a police officer."

Villaraigosa was speaking at a press conference announcing the outcome statement of the Global Network on Safer Cities, which was launched on Monday.

The role of the network will be to advocate for urban safety and local crime prevention all over the world.

The Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (HABITAT), Joan Clos, said the security improvements seen in US cities over the last two decades is "proof that changing the methodology, changing the approach to safety issues, improving with prevention is very important."

He added that "community involvement, taking care of public spaces, this change of mentality, of strategy towards urban security is what is bringing worldwide positive results."

Mayor Gustavo Petro of Colombia's capital Bogota, a city that has also seen dramatic improvements in security, said "a citizen disarmament" had been an approach that "has been a success" in Bogota.

He also expressed belief that "the use of drugs regulated by the State, that the acceptance of the right of the user to consume drugs freely, is part of an urban security policy that could diminish harm and substantially decrease violence criminality indexes."

The Global Network will be a reference for local, national and regional authorities to address the current and future challenges cities are facing. The network intends to target multiple countries and selected cities and resort to an inclusive coalition of stakeholders enhancing urban safety.

Filed under UNHABITAT.