Background and objectives:

A study of crime in Dar es Salaam in 2000, conducted through interviews and by analyzing police records, showed that the city recorded the highest criminal incidents in the country (close to 30%). Thereafter, stakeholder consultation workshops were held to prioritize action needed to reduce and prevent crime. Currently, the third phase of the project is rolling-out the Safer Cities approach to all the municipalities in Tanzania, including Moshi, Dodoma, Arusha, Mbeya, Mwanza, Tanga and Bagamoyo.

The main objectives of the national institutionalization phase are: develop capacities to support the municipalities in addressing and preventing urban crime, resulting in reduction of incidences and impacts of victimization and crime. The programme aims to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of urban dwellers, particularly the poor. The specific objectives of the programme are to: 1. Build national capacity and frameworks to support local crime prevention initiatives; 2. Transfer Dar es Salaam knowledge and experiences to the national Safer Cities Team and other local authorities in Tanzania.

Activities:
Main activities include:   

• The development of a Crime Prevention Strategy. This strategy focuses on promoting a culture of adherence to law. This includes reducing crime and violence, sensitizing residents on the need to fight crime through proper channels, community-oriented policing, and re-establishing ward tribunals to expedite law and by-law enforcement;
• The Sensitization and Awareness Campaign concentrates on mobilizing key partners at the local level and encouraging civil society participation. The capacity of local actors has been improved, especially regarding urban crime prevention tools and issues. Institutional mechanisms for project implementation at council and city levels have been established;
• The third phase of the programme is rolling-out the Safer Cities approach. Several workshops have been held outlining the modalities for the roll out approach.

Results:

• Sensitization and awareness-creating workshops were held regularly with city/municipal residents and resulted in the establishment of several community-based crime prevention initiatives;
• A second victimization survey was conducted (interviewing 1,100 households);
• Women’s safety audits were implemented in three areas;
• The framework for the integration of youth issues into the local authority decision-making process has been developed and passed through full council;
• Forward-looking evaluation and review of the project was conducted in September 2004;
• Three replication workshops have been conducted and modalities for the initiative discussed;
• A national Safer Cities Tanzania office has been established in the prime minister’s office;
• The national framework and capacity for coordination has been developed;
• The Tanzanian Police embraced the community policing approach;
• Sustaining the achievements in Dar es Salaam and increasing the level of activities and impacts. Developing further partnerships, resource mobilization and improving management should be regarded as key tools in this respect.