Large-scale migration, forced displacement, organised crime, terrorism and natural
disasters, but also the proliferation of child pornography, hacking, identity theft and other
types of cybercrime provide very concrete challenges to public safety and can trigger
profound feelings of insecurity in the population. Threats to public safety are typically
multi-level problems, with roots and impact at the individual, community, organisational,
national and multi-lateral level. Properly addressing such grand societal challenges is
crucial for immediate damage control, but also to sustain trust in the effectiveness of
private and public governance. For sustainable solutions to public safety challenges,
approaches are needed that involve not only established national and international crime
and crisis response organisations, but also central and local government organisations,
local members of affected communities and private institutions.
Cultural norms about safety and security differ across communities and stakeholders.
No single approach to public safety can prove successful for everyone all the time.
This highlights the relevance of multi-contextual approaches to safety and security and
the role of cultural norms. Collaborations within and across security organisations and
diverse stakeholders such as in private-public partnerships can be hampered by frictions
about priorities or ways of working. The consideration of social and cultural aspects
is fundamental to overcoming such obstacles. Understanding diversity, embracing
complexity and building new alliances are key for the development of inclusive security
solutions with multiple stakeholder groups and within diverse cultural contexts
