Safe City Action
In 2020 – 2021 Kristiansand and Nordic Safe Cities will develop new initiatives for the strategy ‘A city for all’ to promote diversity and inclusion and prevent hate speech targeting minorities.
City Portrait
Surrounded by fjords, inland waters and mountains, the city of Kristiansand is the capital of Southern Norway. Kristiansand is located in Agder County where it was founded in 1641 under Danish rule, due to its resources and strategic location at the threshold of the continent. Today Kristiansand is the fifth largest city in Norway with a diverse population of 112.000 inhabitants originating from 144 nations. The city offers unique living and housing qualities with a short distance from residential areas to the city centre and good networks of pedestrian and cycle paths. Kristiansand is a generally pleasant place to live and grow up and brims with opportunities for employment, education, recreational activities and cultural experiences.
Safe City Challenges
Although Kristiansand is a relatively safe city and offers a general high standard of living, the city also has challenges related to unequal socioeconomic conditions and opportunities for social mobility. Kristiansand has a higher proportion of people working under uncertain employment conditions and low wages and young people and women out of work compared to similar Norwegian cities. The exclusion from the labour force and social inequality negatively affect the economy, living conditions and personal health, and increases the risk of polarisation and weaker cohesion in society. In terms of extremist influences, Kristiansand has experienced activities from several right-wing radicals and right-wing extremist organisations, including the burning of a Quran. The city also registers that the debate on social media is hardening, and that young people are expressing frustrations with the increased influence of disinformation and polarised sources. Historically Kristiansand has had challenges with right-wing organisations and therefore also has experiences to share on this topic.
Strategy
Kristiansand Municipality and the local police authorities (Agder Politidistrikt) have collaborated to create an action plan to counter radicalisation and violent extremism. This plan is a part of The Crime Prevention Plan “Together for a safer everyday life”.
Focus Areas
The City of Kristiansand currently focuses on the following areas:
- Knowledge: Ensure that the municipality’s knowledge and broad experience with the extreme right milieu is continued and adapted to today’s challenges
- Early intervention: Ensure that the Guideline for the prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism adopted by the municipality is made known among public, private and voluntary actors (Guideline 2015, Kristiansand municipality).
- Cooperation: Ensure better coordination and clarification of roles between the municipality, police, regional resource centre on violence, traumatic stress and suicide prevention (RVTS) and the Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDi) in connection with the follow-up of the national Action Plan against Radicalisation and Violent Extremism.
Good Practise
From Concern to Actions
Kristiansand municipality has created a guideline on” How to prevent and counter radicalization and violent extremism” called: ”From concern to actions”.
Full document
Crime Prevention Plan
We are working on expanding the current Crime Prevention Plan, “Together for a safer everyday life”, with a new chapter on hate crime and hate speech. We hope to implement the new chapter in the plan during February 2021.
Read more here
