Promoting grassroots cooperation against crime

In march 1995, the European Commission sponsored the first pan-European conference on crime and urban delinquency with the aim of promoting grassroots cooperation among others. Joint police and community crime prevention projects have been launched in Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Spain. Wandsworth borough council in London (U.K.), went into partnership with the police several years ago, during which time local crime rates have fallen to the lowest of any inner-London borough. Wandsworth council is hoping to disseminate its local strategies and experiences via a pan-European database. In 1995, the four year long Safer Cities programme, tackling crime at all levels, was launched in four Dutch cities.