Considering the Contribution of Public and Private Security Providers to Endemic Urban Violence

Public security institutions that are either unable or unwilling to discharge their duties can trigger and intensify urban violence. Urban violence in turn often has dramatic implications for regional and domestic security as well as aid effectiveness. Yet the relationships between the public institutions responsible for providing security and endemic urban violence are not straightforward. There are factors both external and internal to public institutions that shape the onset and severity of insecurity. Indeed, the causes and character of urban violence, the heterogeneity of actors instigating and containing it, and the range of interventions deployed to address must all be taken into consideration.