|
|
March 2026 - In this issue of Efus' monthly newsletter: Drug-related violence - Drugs and democracy - Shortage of security professionals - Meeting Ukrainian local authorities - The EU's Civil Society Strategy - A practice from Cali, Colombia, to reduce violence - Save the dates - Safer Together on LinkedIn
|
|
|
|
|
|
Drug-related violence in our cities: we need to talk |
|
Local authorities and professionals from across Europe join their forces to counter harm and violence linked to drug trafficking |
|
“Everyone is in some way likely to be affected by illicit drug use, the operation of the drug market and the problems associated with it.” This is the blunt observation of the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) in its latest report, which confirms what many of us can see around us in our cities and communities. European cities and regions are taking action every day to prevent drug-related harm and the violence generated by trafficking. Importantly, these efforts do not solely focus on reactive responses, but also address the root causes of these issues through prevention, social policies and long-term strategies. We set up the Coalition of the willing - against drug-related violence and trafficking in part to showcase all these initiatives. We are organising a conference in June in Brussels in partnership with the City of Brussels and with support from EUDA to discuss all of this and find common solutions. Join us for the Cities & Drugs: Towards Local Governance Balancing Security, Health and Social Cohesion conference on 17 June. Photo ©iStock - eyegelb |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Drugs: restoring trust in European public actionby Elizabeth Johnston, Efus Executive Director |
|
In an article published in the prestigious French magazine Esprit, Elizabeth Johnston, Efus Executive Director, observes that trafficking weakens social cohesion and paves the way for populism. She advocates for more recognition of the fundamental role played by local authorities to prevent drug-related harm and violence. |
|
|
|
“From Liège to Rotterdam, from Barcelona to Gdańsk, local elected
officials are uniting to demonstrate the efficiency of collective action at the
local level and of European cooperation,” she notes, arguing that giving local
authorities more say at EU level would “restore trust in public action and thus
democracy.”
>> Read the article in Esprit (in French, paywall)
|
|
|
|
Where have all the security professionals gone? |
|
Facing an acute shortage of security and safety professionals, a group of European regions is working to boost recruitment |
|
Europe is faced with a shortfall of about 424,000 safety and security professionals, and public authorities as well as private businesses scramble to attract new candidates and retain staff. |
|
|
|
How to recruit more people into those jobs? How to ensure they’re tooled up to keep abreast of rapidly evolving technologies? How to retain them? A group of European regions is working on addressing these challenges through an EU-funded project in which Efus is a partner, titled SafeSkills. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ukraine: managing everyday security in time of war |
|
Representatives of several local authorities of the Odessa region in Ukraine recently met online with Efus members and team to share how they manage everyday security in time of war. Apart from practical measures such as using generators to ensure power supply, |
|
|
|
they stressed the importance of maintaining community and cultural life with festivals, exhibitions and other gatherings for both adults and, importantly, children. We look forward to another live conversation with our Ukrainian friends in the near future. We'll keep you posted here. |
|
|
|
|
|
Efus welcomes the adoption by the European Commission of its new Strategy for Civil Society |
|
The European Forum for Urban Security (Efus) welcomes the adoption by the European
Commission of its new EU Strategy for Civil Society. It represents a major policy tool for strengthening European democracy,
|
|
|
|
protecting fundamental rights and providing sustainable support to civil society organisations at a time when they are playing a crucial role in addressing current democratic challenges. Photo: the European Commission's headquarters in Brussels ©iStock - olrat |
|
|
|
|
|
In practice Abriendo Caminos: preventing violence in Cali, Colombia |
|
The third largest city of Colombia, Cali has one of the highest rates of homicides in the world. The innovative Abriendo Caminos (opening pathways) project seeks to reduce violence with an approach based on disease control.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Save the dates 12 March to 9 April, Italy, AI for Cities training programme for Italian cities 14 April, Brussels (Belgium), training session From risk to resilience: Local crime prevention strategies for safer public spaces, PARTESS-COM project >> registration here 15-16 April, Paris (France), coordination meeting, Respect to Protect project on mental health 23-24 April, Marseille (France), field visit to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, SafeSkills project on the recruitment, retention and training of security professionals 20 May, Brussels (Belgium), training session Protecting what matters: Assessing and reducing the vulnerabilities
of places of worship, PARTESS-COM project >> registration here 10 June, Brussels (Belgium), training session Communicating under pressure before, during and after a crisis, PARTESS-COM project >> registration here 17 June, Brussels (Belgium), conference Cities & drugs: Towards local governance balancing security, health & social cohesion
>> registration here - 18 June, Brussels (Belgium), Efus General Assembly (members only)
>> registration here
|
|
|
|
Join the conversation on our Safer Together group |
|
|
|
We created Safer Together as a space where our members and anyone interested in urban security and crime prevention can freely exchange about a whole range of topics. This month, debates focused on international women's day and toxic masculinity. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.svg.jpg)
