Background and objectives
Escalating crime and insecurity in Nairobi are hindering social and economic development and severely eroding the city’s reputation. The causes are often linked to institutional weaknesses in the police and justice systems. Following a request for technical assistance, UNHABTIAT’s Safer Cities Programme established a Safer Nairobi Initiative, implemented by the City Council of Nairobi, which focused on the development and implementation of a citywide crime prevention strategy and a local coalition. The Safer Nairobi Initiative aims to develop a community-based strategy for the prevention of crime in Nairobi.
The main objectives were:

• Building of national capacity and frameworks to support local crime prevention initiatives in collaboration with other national processes and programmes.
• Consolidating Nairobi capacity for scaling-up and transferring by providing support to the Safer Nairobi Initiative Unit.
• Establishing successful urban crime prevention initiatives in additional municipalities in Kenya.

Activities
The main activities included:

• Capacity of local actors, in particular, councillors and officers at the Nairobi City Council strengthened and institutional mechanisms established for project implementation at council level
• Consultations on citywide crime prevention strategy conducted,
• This culminated in eight high-profile constituency consultations which resulted in a Full Council Resolution and a Draft Strategy on Crime Prevention and Urban Safety.
• Safer Nairobi Residents Conventions took place to discuss the draft crime prevention and urban safety strategy

Results
The following results were achieved:

• A citywide crime-victimization survey produced.
• A Safer Cities Nairobi Action Group established.
• Public awareness campaigns conducted, including a Safer Nairobi video, a promotional folder and a biannual Salama newsletter.
• Training seminars held for NCC officers and councillors on crime prevention.
• A safety audit ‘Night Walk’ and public rally held to raise the project profile and engage city residents in the initiative.
• Stakeholder consultations have taken place involving residents associations, business groups, community policing groups, slum dwellers, women’s and youth groups.
• A full council meeting adopted the citywide crime prevention and urban safety strategy.
• A project coordinating office was established at City Hall.
• City Council advancement on partnerships with private sector to light up Nairobi slums and streets.
• ‘Safer Spaces and Streets Campaign’ launched in March 2006.
• National Safer Cities approach rolled out in June 2006.
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• National guidelines for local crime prevention developed.