“Fighting unsafety is not the same as creating safety”

Marc Schuilenburg’s lecture shows that safety is a Janus Head (a two-faced head). Freedom can be viewed as a battle between positive and negative safety, between preventing and repressing measures, and as a field of tension between legal protection and instrumentality. The last category is an endless field of tension because legal protection of victims and suspects have to be ensured, but, at the same time, the municipality and police have to fight crime efficiently.  

Ignoring critics 

“In Rotterdam, safety is often discussed in hysterical policy language”, according to Schuilenburg: “It is hard, harder, hardest. We have a law & order mayor, we speak of front line officers and city marines, and there is a war against crime.” However, this language is not in line with the reality in Rotterdam. In his lecture, Schuilenburg shows that the decrease in crime in Rotterdam is similar to national and international trends. 

The Municipality of Rotterdam and the Police of Rotterdam are being critically evaluated by Amnesty International, the Committee of Human Rights, the United Nations, the judicial power and the Dutch Data Protection Authority because the legal protection of citizens concerning several measures are at risk. “The way Rotterdam handles this critique has negative consequences”, explains Schuilenburg: “In Rotterdam, there is a tendency to ignore critique on the tackling of crime. Eventually, this leads to a decreased confidence amongst citizens in political parties and the fighting of this crime.” 

Planting a flower 

Safety has two approaches. From an approach of positive safety, a certain feeling of shelter can be offered, and safety can be created by facilitating social cohesion in neighbourhoods. Schuilenburg provides examples, such as the construction of small libraries, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools and shops, and the use of positive role models for the youth. When you take a negative approach to safety, the focus is on crime and fighting crime. Currently, the focus is more on the negative than the positive side of safety. Schuilenburg thinks that this should change. 

He ends his lecture with a clear message: “Fighting unsafety is not the same as creating safety. Safety is not just about weeding. You should also plant a flower once in a while.”