Research project
IcARUS: Innovative Approaches to Urban Security
- Start date: 1 September 2020
- End date: 31 August 2024
- Funder: EU Horizon 2020
- Value: € 5.9 million
- Partners and collaborators: The lead partner is the European Forum for Urban Security (EFUS). As well as CCJS in the School of Law, University of Leeds other consortium partners include: Panteion University, Greece; University of Salford; Erasmus University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria; Fondation de l’Institut de recherche (IDIAP) ; Switzerland Kentro Meleton Asfaleias (KEMEA); Plus Ethics, Spain; LOBA, Portugal and the municipal/law enforcement authorities of six cities: Nice, France; Turin, Italy; Riga, Latvia; Stuttgart, Germany; Lisbon, Portugal; and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
- Primary investigator: Professor Adam Crawford
- Co-investigators: Dr. Christine Weirich Dr. Elena Sciandra
IcARUS: Innovative Approaches to Urban Security
By rethinking tools for urban security policy, the IcARUS project offers a unique opportunity to draw together the best evidence from urban security research and practice over the last 30 years to implement an integrated, evidence-based and multi-stakeholder approach to prominent urban security problems.
The University of Leeds team leads the production of a cross-analysis of the trends and developments in urban security policies across Europe over the last 30 years along four thematic areas: juvenile delinquency, public space issues, radicalisation, organised crime and trafficking.
The Leeds team will be leading Work Package 2 – the State of the Art Review – and contributing to the full consortium programme.
Impact
IcARUS main objectives:
- Facilitating a transformation in the application and use of the knowledge base through the design of urban security policies.
- Integrating social and technological innovations to strengthen the strategic approach to urban security.
- Promoting a balanced vision of urban security, combining prevention, sanctions and social cohesion as mechanisms to encourage common approaches to security in Europe.
- Engaging local communities as active co-producers of urban security policies.
IcARUS wider contribution to urban security:
- Better understanding of the complex and interrelated drivers and societal contexts of security challenges including in particular juvenile delinquency, trafficking and organised crime, radicalisation and public space issues.
- Improved, consolidated knowledge and exchange of experience among European Law Enforcement Agencies officers on urban security issues as related to juvenile delinquency, public space issues, radicalisation, organised crime and trafficking and their remedies.
Development of common approaches for assessing risks/threats, and identifying and deploying relevant security measures, which takes into account legal and ethical rules of operation, cost-benefit considerations, as well as fundamental rights such as the rights to privacy, to protection of personal data and the free movement of persons.
Publications and outputs
IcARUS partners aim at publishing contributed and invited papers (at least 1 publication per year) in top refereed scientific journals.
Other outputs:
- Report on state-of-the-art and cross analysis of the urban security as related in particular to juvenile delinquency, trafficking and organised crime, radicalisation and public space issues.
- Collection of best practices, tools and institutional barriers to prevent and tackle urban security issues
- Compilation of toolkits for European Law Enforcement Agencies and/or civil society organisations, validated against practitioners' and civil society needs and requirements to facilitate their daily operations.
- Elaboration of guidelines to better implement the toolkit for a strategic approach to urban security
Elaboration of training for the practical use of the toolkit by European Law Enforcement Agencies and/or civil society organisations.