The regional and urban dimension of crime in the EU Hugo Poelman DG Regional and Urban Policy Economic Analysis and Policy Development Unit

Outline Policy context Results of previous regional data collections Options for regional data The urban dimension

Policy context EU Cohesion Policy invests € 350 billion over seven years Invested by cities, regions and MS Crime can have a big impact on urban and regional economic development Improving the capacity of the police force can be financed through Cohesion Policy Important cross-border dimension of crime Important variation within countries

Regional data collection Covering most of the EU Member States at NUTS1, NUTS2 or even NUTS3 level Showing territorial diversity depending on the category of crime Border regions Urban / rural diversity

Homicides - External borders - Some cities

Burglaries - Cities - Border regions - Coasts

Car theft - Border regions - Tourism destinations - Capital cities - More in EU15

Options for regional data Investigate possibilities of Larger thematic coverage Better / more detailed regional coverage Improved classification / definition Options for re-use of existing data sources Extracting from existing databases, e.g. by means of APIs Solution already available? Solution can be envisaged within a year or two? Solution would need to be developed (with support)? Collecting data via web questionnaire or Excel file?

The urban dimension Crime is often assumed to be higher in cities The Urban Agenda for the EU The SDGs include a specific indicator for cities SDG 11, but many other indicators are relevant at the city level including homicides However, only meaningful if a harmonised definition of a city is used TERCET extension to the NUTS Regulation provides a new legal framework for harmonised territorial definitions

European system of city definitions: degree of urbanisation Cities Towns and suburbs Rural areas Two-level classification grid cells local administrative units (municipalities) Included in TERCET

Data by degree of urbanisation

European system of city definitions Harmonised people-based definition of cities and functional urban areas (incl. commuting) Based on 1 km² population grid Joint EC-OECD development Concepts included in the TERCET Regulation

Urban centres and cities Grid-based urban centre relates to city (LAU2) Example: Graz (AT) Grid-based urban centre exceeds LAU2 boundaries Solution: creation of a "greater city" (cluster of LAU2 units) Example: Athens

Ensuring comparability of urban crime indicators Determine to which territory the collected data actually relate Apply the harmonised definition of cities (in accordance with TERCET) Investigate opportunities of geo-referencing of crime events Offers additional possibilities producing indicators at various territorial level Provides more flexibility of indicator production in case of territorial changes (e.g. changes in city definition)