Community security
Saferworld has developed and tested a methodology for building safer, more secure communities, based on experience in a number of challenging contexts, including Kosovo, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nepal, Sudan and Somalia.
Our approach to community security puts people in the lead. We work through local partners to help people identify their safety and security needs and bring together communities, police, local authorities and other security and justice providers to prioritise and address them.
Community safety and security initiatives can be used to tackle a range of both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ security problems of varying severity, from dangerous traffic and petty crime to a lack of trust between communities and security providers, inter-ethnic tensions or weapons proliferation.
The approach involves working in partnership to accompany communities through an action-planning process that is people-focused, encouraging the involvement of marginalised and demotivated people, often in environments where trust between communities and power-holders has broken down.
Community security initiatives build durable links between the community and local government and police structures and enhance the resilience of communities to withstand pressures that could lead to violent conflict in the future. This work also informs national level initiatives by providing a framework for the delivery of public services in line with local needs.
