Safety for All ...Equally!

These words were all the more appropriate that Mr. Daniel SANSFAÇON, Deputy Director General of ICPC, noted that several people had questioned the relative importance of delinquency in countries such as Senegal, which face problems such as poverty, endemic unemployment and inadequate access to education and housing, all of which are of much more immediate concern to citizens. The data on the following page show that Senegal is one of the least economically advanced countries in the world. However, the political situation of Senegal, the fight against corruption and the efficiency of government institutions do mean that Senegal is one of the most stable countries in Africa, where civil society is very active and where ideas circulate freely. Senegal is also one of the countries with the lowest HIV rates in Africa.

Senegal, like many other countries, has few statistics on delinquency. A report recently released by the Department of Justice indicates that “(…) the lack of judicial statistics is real; furthermore, existing statistics are generally out-of-date, incomplete or inconsistent” In 1999, nearly 25,000 people were prosecuted in Senegal, i.e. 2.5 persons per 1,000. These figures warrant closer attention: 

• Seventy-six percent of offenders are between 20 and 44, though this age group represents only 27% of the Senegalese population.
• Of these offenders, 3.25% are under 18 , though this age group represents 58% of the total population.
• Nine out of 10 offenders are men; however, in the 15-19 age group, girls are more likely than boys to commit an offence (11.1% versus 7.9%).
• Delinquency is primarily an urban phenomenon and is concentrated in certain districts: close to 50% in the greater Dakar area, 11% in Thiès and 8% in greater Kaolack, Diourbel and Saint-Louis. According to the report, the concentration of delinquency in the greater Dakar area can be explained by high population and severe unemployment rates (estimated at 24%, i.e. 35% for men and 44% for women aged 20-44 years).
• Most offences involve property (43%) and disturbing the peace (31%); assaults represent 17.8% of the total.
• Finally, most offences that are brought before the courts are cases where the perpetrator is caught in the act, which would indicate that a very significant proportion of offences are not reported to the police or the judiciary.

Apart from the lack reliable of data on delinquency, there is also a lack of data on victimization and insecurity. Senegal is not a particularly unsafe country; however, a certain number of social and demographic factors do contribute to insecurity; for example, population density in certain neighbourhoods, age of dwellings, high unemployment, limited access to education, etc. In its World Development Report 2000, the World Bank underscored the link between insecurity and poverty; if this holds true as a general rule, then it is probably true for Senegal.

Alioune BADIANE, of UN-HABITAT, pointed out that for far too long, our only response to delinquency and insecurity was resorting to the police and the judiciary. Though necessary, this approach does have its limitations. It has economic costs: the judiciary gobbles up a large part of national budgets, often more than 5%. We must not wait until we get to the point where the State spends more on prisons than on education, as is the case in California. There are also social costs: youths left to their own devices drift into delinquency, and the intervention of the judiciary, followed by incarceration, reinforces this vicious circle. The lives of these youths are ruined, and they in turn ruin the lives of their victims. This phenomenon shows a failure of socialization, of social intervention and of state intervention. Not to mention lack of efficiency: fewer than 30% of cases under police investigation are ever solved, and only 50% of all offences are ever reported; prosecution rates are barely higher, while recidivism rates are extremely high, and incarceration rates are climbing steadily. We must therefore wonder about the effectiveness and efficiency of investments in traditional answers to delinquency and security problems.

Delinquency prevention and cooperative urban safety strategies have been in existence for over 20 years. Mr. Michel MARCUS, of the European Forum for Urban Safety, and Mr. Yves VAN DE VLOET, of the Department of the Interior of Belgium, spoke of the approaches developed in their countries, in France since the early 1980s, and in Belgium since the early 1990s. These two countries no longer view prevention and repression as opposites, and have not done so for a long time now. They have focused on local safety and prevention contracts, which form the basis of community safety cooperative action. These contracts seek to foster participation of stakeholders and strategies in the fight against delinquency at both the pre-emptive and corrective stages. Mr. François LUMBU, of the Department of Justice of Canada, and Mr. Serges BRUNEAU, of the ICPC (speaking on behalf of the Minister of Public Security of Quebec, Mr. Jacques CHAGNON, who was detained in Quebec on urgent business), spoke of the Canadian national crime prevention strategy and of the Quebec approach to crime prevention and local policing. Once again, the common denominator of these strategies is the will to strike a better balance between prevention and repression in order to attain a more efficient, inclusive, participative and sustainable level of community safety. France and Belgium put local authorities at the very heart of their local safety policies. In Quebec, new policies also give a significant role to local authorities. This is as it should be; indeed, the mayor is the first person that citizens turn to when things go wrong in their cities and communities.

It is certainly difficult to decentralize our responses to delinquency. This is because the judicial and punitive response to delinquency is deeply ingrained. No one would argue that delinquency should be ignored or go unpunished. However, it is also obvious that the very act of punishing demonstrates the failure of socialization mechanisms. Decentralizing means taking into account all potential responses, instead of focusing on the traditional ones. It also difficult to decentralize due to the fact that domestic security, and the monopoly on the use of force, have been the prerogative of the State since time immemorial. In some countries, like Senegal, the police system is highly centralized. This makes delegating to local authorities even harder. Worse still is that this phenomenon often leads to the marginalization or mistrust of the role of mayor.

The Senegalese police force is no exception. The Senegalese police was established under difficult circumstances, and it is widely accepted that it has no “real” power. Though the force has become more professional over the last few years, it still focuses on traditional approaches to public safety, setting itself up as the sole legitimate enforcer of safety. Mr. Cheikou CISSÉ, Director General of National Security, spoke of plans to reform the police, which call for decentralization and the implementation of a genuine local policing strategy. It is worthwhile noting that in each of the countries mentioned, strong delinquency prevention and urban safety policies have been combined with an overhaul of police forces. This is especially true of Belgium and of the Province of Quebec.



The Minister of Decentralized Cooperation, Ms. BA, subscribed to this approach of decentralizing state services. She defined it as a “melting pot of promotion of positive and participative citizenship in view of attaining good governance” and as “a process which seeks to attain sustainable and harmonious development by filling the gaps between communities and between urban and rural environments”. Successful decentralization takes into account social and economic factors that attract country dwellers to the cities, which in turn worsens the problem of shantytowns and precarious living conditions and leads to the fossilizing of “social attitudes and behaviours dictated by tradition”. This in turn leads to further delinquency and crime.

Mr. François AMICHIA and Mr. Jean-Simon ONGOLA, Mayors of Abidjan and Yaoundé respectively, told us about the experiences of the cities which participated in the Safer Cities Program. They spoke of the importance of the role of locally elected officials in this strategy. Mayors do not wield all the power: they are not chiefs of police, they do not decree criminal law, nor do they usually control education or health-care budgets. However, they do have moral authority and legitimacy. They are therefore eminently able to engage citizens. They can also set an example by ensuring that municipal services take safety into account in all areas of urban governance. Mr. Mamadou DOUMBIA, speaking on behalf of the city of Bamako, described in great detail the local and national assessment process for youth delinquency, which calls for the participation of all stakeholders. 


Mr. Mamadou DOUMBIA, Ms. Agnès ADIKO, and Mr. François AMICHIA

Senegalese civil society is very active, and some of its representatives spoke of initiatives undertaken in order to ensure the safety of women and to integrate youth. The representative from the National Federation of Women’s Groups (Fédération nationale des associations de femmes) said that women can be partners, players and catalysts in delinquency prevention: players, because they are the pillar of the family unit and of early childhood socialization; partners, because they already participate in many projects and strategies to fight violence against women and children; catalysts, because they can play a role in promoting programs, promoting public policy and fighting poverty. Youth organizations, such as the National Youth Council (Conseil national de la jeunesse) and the National Organization for the Coordination of Public Activities (Organisation nationale de coordination des activités de masse), said that youth, especially boys, are overrepresented in delinquency statistics because they are confronted with violence, unemployment, poverty, armed conflict, illiteracy, all of which places them at high risk. Institutional responses to youth delinquency point to the dichotomy between repression and education and underscores the deficiencies of institutions, which are unable to provide an adequate education system.

Mr. I. SAMBE, speaking for the Minister of Justice, noted that Senegal is implementing local justice based on penal mediation, which will hopefully lead to a strengthening of the social fabric and to the creation of houses of justice. These houses of justice allow for “a more flexible, speedy and responsive justice system for litigation and the settlement of some offences”. These measures are part of a program to modernize the judiciary. They show that safe environments are indeed central to any development policy.

Safety for All… Equally! Attaining cooperative safety implies developing a plan in an open and inclusive manner. It also requires civic participation, and luckily, Senegal does enjoy a strong social fabric. Safety also implies the participation of all parties in a shared vision tailored to local needs, based on recognized practices and available knowledge, and grounded in participative and rigorous processes. Safe communities, and safety for all, means pre-empting delinquency and insecurity in a framework of sustainable development.

Besides fruitful debate and exchange, the Dakar seminar sought to give rise to concrete projects. The final declaration was drafted by a technical committee of ten people representing all sectors of Senegalese society. It was adopted by all participants at the closing ceremony. It recommended creating a network of Senegalese cities for delinquency prevention and community safety. It also recommended the participation of Senegalese cities, especially Saint-Louis, in a Safer Cities program in cooperation with UN-HABITAT. The assistant to the Mayor of Saint-Louis and the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Ousmance Masseck NDIAYE, reiterated his wholehearted approval of the declaration and especially of the involvement of the city of Saint-Louis in the process. Later on in the afternoon, during a press conference at the end of the seminar, the assistant to the Mayor of the city of Dakar and President of the National Assembly, Mr. Pape DIOP, stated that the City of Dakar would be pleased to support the networking of Senegalese cities.

Finally, Mr. Amadou DIALLO, of the Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie, urged all participants to pressure their respective governments in order to ensure that urban safety and delinquency prevention issues be integrated in all strategies of the Francophonie.

The Dakar seminar was a success thanks to the continued support of the members of the ICPC team: Jocelyne Latour, Serges Bruneau, Richard St-Denis and Sirpa Utriainen, as well as their network of collaborators, most notably Michel Marcus, Secretary of the Board, and Yves van de Vloet, President of the ICPC Government Advisory Committee.

The success of the seminar can also be attributed to the selfless cooperation, determination and faith of Mr. Abou SARR, municipal police officer in Saint-Louis. 



Mr. Abou SARR

Since he attended the Naples Forum in 2000, he has worked tirelessly to implement a genuine prevention policy in Senegal in general, and in his city in particular. We owe him our sincerest gratitude. 


Daniel Sansfaçon
Deputy Director General
ICPC