From the rape and murder of DPP legislator Peng Wan-ju
Besides the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, cross-strait relations and education, crime-fighting should be a priority of the new administration. Without a safe living environment, all other policies are worthless.
Urban crime control policies may be divided into two types. One, taking the excessive number of criminals and a lenient judicial system as the root cause, demands more police, stricter laws and harsher sentences. However, the police cannot be everywhere and they cannot resolve public hostility toward them. This policy could turn a city into fortress -- the poor and the homeless deported, public restrooms shut down, and parks and shopping centers surrounded by walls, guards and surveillance cameras. These measures will only increase the alienation and distrust among residents and deepen their fear and resentment toward strangers.
The second policy presumes that crimes derive from social disintegration and poverty. Therefore, the government should endeavor to rescue marginalized teenagers, strengthen education, increase social welfare measures and create job opportunities. Although easing poverty and social discrimination may deal more directly with the problem, it requires resources of tremendous time, money and manpower.
In recent years, we have seen a third proposal -- a plan for a "safe city." Under this policy, crime prevention is accomplished through cooperation between the government and residents; major improvement in the safety design of residences, transportation systems and parks; and the integration of these measures with community development and education. Since residents, especially women, poor people and the elderly, know better than anyone about the risks, they can be utilized as experts in crime prevention and given an opportunity to participate in the planning process. By integrating different cross-sections of urban life, such a "safe city" plan would not treat the crime problem as simply a problem for the government and police.
Cities are invaluable precisely because they allow interaction and an exchange of ideas among people of different backgrounds. However, a fearful city makes everyone retreat into their private space. The more that people distrust each other and fear using public spaces, the more a city will deteriorate.
How to transform cities into safe and interesting places through increased lighting, community watch and rescue efforts, public activities, maintenance of environment and better street signs are urgent urban policy issues. The government must shoulder the responsibility to relieve the residents' fear. However, the government should also make good use of the wisdom and experience of residents.
One important reason for the worsening crime situation is probably our poor role models. "Self-fattening" bills from our elected representatives, creative embezzlement, false reporting of campaign expenses, government procurement kickbacks and illegal loans -- all of these are on full view in media reports.
The implication is that, as long as one has money and power, one can act as one pleases. If we still hope for a safe society, perhaps we should first get ourselves an upright and moral government.
Bih Herng-dar is a professor at the Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, National Taiwan University.
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