Nairobi County, UN Habitat Launch Report on the State of Urban Safety

Nairobi City County in Partnership with UN Habitat’s Safer Cities Program and The National Crime Research Centre (NCRC) have today launched ‘The City’s Report on the State of Urban Security’ by Safetipin – India, which seeks to highlight the safety status of various parts of the city.

The Report is based on a Citywide Urban Safety Audit, which carried out between March last year and June 2016 by The County Government of Nairobi in collaboration with Safetipin, Uber and various youth groups across the city.

Safetipin is a mobile platform that is used to collect data to measure a city’s safety status. The resultant information is then used to collect strategies and actions that will make cities more inclusive and safe.

Speaking during the launch, Nairobi Governor Dr.  Evans Kidero said the Safetipin app provides a unique opportunity for collaboration and partnerships that will foster safer living in the city of Nairobi.

Dr.  Kidero noted that the Safetipin audit has indicated where people feel unsafe and why they feel that way and with the revelations, the County Government would be able plan and act to effect change through formulation of informed policies, decisions and investments that support the promise of a Safer Nairobi for its citizens.

He added: “This audit will allow all of us present here today as stakeholders including the national government to deliver measurable improvement in safety.”

The Citywide Urban Safety Audit collected data across the city between March 2015 and June 2016 by taxi hailing service Uber Kenya as part of their partnership with SafetiPin, local taxi drivers, and university students and local youth in various neighborhoods around the city.

“This platform will save lives, make urban dwelling enjoyable and improve the environment for business, said Dr.  Kalpana Viswanath, Co Founder, Safetipin India.

“The technology is a platform uses data to make cities more inclusive, safe and free from violence, particularly for women and girls.  It uses apps to collect information and engage with individuals and institutions to create solutions. It provides useful information about safety in cities,” Dr. Viswanath explained.

Read: Why Kenyan Commercial Banks Need More Than Just Mobile Apps

The safety audit covered both streets and public spaces and focused on specific parameters namely: lighting, openness, visibility, security (presence of police – public or private), walk paths, public transport, gender usage and the general feeling of participants.

Based on the above parameters, Safetipin, with support from Cities Alliance and UN-Habitat, collaborated with the Safer Nairobi Initiative and the NCRC to help the city assess the status of urban safety and security.

“This Safety Audit presents us with another step to generate data to help the County in developing strategies to build a safe city,” Dr. Kidero acknowledged.

The Governor announced that the County is planning to establish a modern Centre for Learning to build the capacity of the city’s workforce and empower them to better respond to the cross-cutting urban management and governance issues which are presented by rapid urbanization.

“We have already begun this process through the initiation of a Culture Change program as well as on-going training for the County’s Security team.” He said.

Apart from Nairobi, Safetipin methodology has been successfully applied in Delhi, Bogota (Colombia) and Jakarta (Indonesia).

The software developers of SafetiPin are based in New Delhi, India.

The findings of the report are expected to provide an opportunity for stakeholder engagement and to promote a multi-stakeholder approach to crime prevention.