3 minute read
Living Safely (Bo trygt)
A partnership working to prevent burglary and combat burglary-related insecurity.
In 2017, TrygFonden safety survey showed that insecurity with regard to burglary Danes' in relation reached new heights. 25% feared being burgled - the highest proportion measured until then. Against this backdrop, TrygFonden wanted to step up its efforts to combat the insecurity caused by burglaries. No one seemed to be addressing the complexity of burglary, the prevention and detection of which span a wide range of measures, such as government work, social conditions, people's various habits, different regulations and practices (not least in the construction industry, insurance companies and others.
Startup
The problem analysis in TrygFonden led to the identification of key actors, and expertise in the Danish Crime Prevention Council (DKR), Realdania as a philanthropic actor in the built environment and the Bolius Knowledge Centre were reached out to. During the preparatory work, stakeholders became increasingly aware that the agenda around the lack of detection of burglary did not reflect the challenge. No one was working on burglary and security from a holistic view of the issue. The number of burglaries in private homes in Denmark had been stable for 30 years at around 30,000-35,000 burglaries per year - with a peak of just under 50,000 in 2009. This was alarmingly high compared to our neighbouring countries. But it was especially the insecurity the insecurity around burglaries, which filled the people's consciousness. This led to a redefinition of the challenge, with different criteria for success.
Number of burglaries in Denmark (the blue line) versus the level of insecurity (the grey line) as measured in the TrygFonden's insecurity survey. The 7,000 refers to The targetfor Living Safely (Bo trygt). Source: Living Safely (Bo trygt).
We must change the conditions for burglary and security
Based on the problem analysis, the first collaborations, analyses and concrete projects were centred on four aims: to make work more difficult for the thief; make it more difficult to dispose of stolen goods; give the thief other options: put the homeowner in a position to act. These four aims represented a new, all-round approach to the problem and required a very different kind of broad cross sectoral collaboration.
'We set out a goal to eliminate that insecurity, and then we realised that we had between three and four times as many burglaries as neighbouring countries. The goal turned into a vision: we must reduce insecurity, it must be safe to live in Denmark. We want to achieve this by reducing the number of burglaries to the level in neighbouring countries and doing something about the factors that cause insecurity - for example, the way burglaries are covered in the media'.
Britt Wendelboe, Programme Manager, Bo trygt
Organisation
The partnership was launched in 2018 and has since grown, based on a shared vision and a desire to create a collaborative effort involving all stakeholders with an interest in the challenges. A collaboration that has been the lever for joint action. A need gradually emerged to establish a clear, cross-cutting secretariat function to coordinate the overall effort. This function was anchored in TrygFonden in close coordination and cooperation with DKR, Bolius Knowledge Centre and Realdania.
After a four-year strategy period, during which a great deal of experience had been built up around both successful and less successful initiatives, the philanthropic partners, TrygFonden and Realdania changed their perspective: in 2022, the Bo trygt Forankningsstrategi 2022-2026 was decided on. This 'anchoring strategy' places great emphasis on ensuring close cooperation with those social and civil society agencies who are the mainstays in maintaining and continually developing efforts against burglary - in particular the police, the municipalities, the insurance industry, the Crime Prevention Council and the Bolius Knowledge Centre and Realdania.
As a consequence of this 'anchoring strategy' focus, the aim is that by 2026 the secretariat will make itself as redundant as possible, as the work and Bo trygt concepts become truly operative.
Duration of the initiative
2018-2026
Partners
TrygFonden, Realdania, the Danish Crime Prevention Council (DKR), Bolius Knowledge Centre, the police, Insurance & Pension and the municipalities that are part of the work as Bo trygt municipalities.
Objective
To reduce the insecurity associated with burglary in Denmark and to reduce the number of burglaries in private homes..
Access
Bo trygt addresses the issue of burglary in an all-round perspective. There is a focus on the man in the street, and on what individuals can do to prevent burglary in their homes, while looking at collaborative relationships, professional practices and possible structural changes in society that can help reduce burglary. Finally, the mindset and narratives associated with burglary are consciously addressed.
Examples of action taken
• In 2020, Bo trygt established a network cooperation with a number of partners, including Dansk Erhverv, DBA, Rigspolitiet, Forsikring og Pension, Forbrugerrådet, and the auction houses Bruun Rasmussen and Lauritz. com to limit piracy. Most recently, the network has pointed to the need for a stolen goods register (ROSG) the establishment which in 2022 received the support of the police, the Ministry of Justice, DKR and Insurance and Pension, who have undertaken to lead the collaboration.
• Advice to private individuals on crime prevention: Through the Danish Building Centres Association, Bo trygt has trained employees in hardware stores to give good, objective advice on burglary prevention to their customers.
• The activation of civilians through Neighbourhood Friends: Neighbourhood Help and the new concept of Neighbourhood Friends (under the auspices of DKR - The Danish Crime Prevention Council) is a key partner in burglary prevention and local security. Studies show that neighbourhood involvement is more preventative than burglar alarms.
