Effective Components on Crime Prevention and Urban Security Case Study: District 15 of Tehran

It is necessary to have an active and dynamic urban community with sustainable dimensions, crime prevention and security. This issue, along with estimating basic needs, is considered as one of the main pillars of sustainability in the growth and development of cities. The category of urban security in public spaces, which is always a refuge for the peace and comfort of citizens, is very important. District 15 of Tehran as one of the marginal areas and the main entrance of Tehran in the southeast of Tehran, by accepting all kinds of ethnicities and immigrants to live in this area, increasing the rate of marginalization, the existence of drug addicts, beggars, sleeping cartons, working children and etc., has become a suitable bed for creating insecure and abnormal spaces and increasing the amount of crime in this area. For this purpose, according to the characteristics of the district, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effective components on urban security in order to achieve the dimensions of a sustainable city in this region.

The present study is part of “applied" and "descriptive-analytical" researches with a structural approach to urban security. Library studies and documents related to the research topic were used to collect the descriptive part of the research and for the analytical part of the research, security analysis in urban spaces of 15th district of Tehran has been done by using a survey method and a questionnaire in three dimensions of fundamental, dynamics and safety. To analyze the research data from Pearson correlation statistical tests to evaluate the internal relationship of components, t-test to evaluate the priority of components and diagnostic analysis model to predict the process of security in district 15 according to the components of the structuralist approach in SPSS software, were exerted.The statistical population of this research consists of 659468 residents of 15th district of Tehran. The statistical sample size was estimated to be 384 using Cochran's formula`. The data collection tool in this study was a questionnaire that was randomly distributed and collected among the sample size. To determine the validity of the questionnaire, the KMO measure was used in the form of factor analysis test, the validity of which was evaluated at 0.76 and at an appropriate level. To determine the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha coefficient test was exerted. The following result indicates the general confirmation of the reliability of the questionnaire with a coefficient of 0.79.

Proper analysis of spatial patterns of crime and social harm is a vital issue for cities and is one of the important social criteria of societies. The discovery of such patterns could be the starting point for further research on other topics. The damage distribution map shows that the spatial distribution of these indicators is not random and follows a specific spatial pattern. These patterns are the result of a set of economic, social, cultural, and behavioural processes. District 15 of Tehran has the highest statistics of social harms and various crimes among other ones. On the other hand, the distribution of crime in Tehran shows that the occurrence of social harms in the neighbourhood and the region is more prominent. Therefore, it can be said that "Social harms in Tehran are mainly regional and neighbourhood identities, and so that their geographical study is needed to achieve a community prevention model." In this regard, using a structuralist approach in this study, the components and indicators affecting urban security and the prevention and reduction of crime in the 15th district of Tehran were investigated. The structuralist approach to security, according to its theorizing process, evaluates the category of security based on the conditions of developing countries. Its components also indicate the root problems and challenges that can lead to insecurity in urban spaces in these countries. In this study, the components of this approach were evaluated in the 15th district of Tehran. In order to evaluate the accuracy of the explanation of security in urban areas of the region, the internal relationship of the selected components was assessed based on a structuralist perspective.

A- The assessment of urban security in the 15th district of Tehran has been correctly explained according to the components of the structuralist approach based on the high internal relationship between these components;B- The fundamental component was identified as an important component in identifying weaknesses based on priority analysis for better planning to identify strengths and weaknesses and according to the indicators of the three components of the structuralist approach;C- Based on the forecast of the process of achieving security in urban spaces of District 15 of Tehran, data analysis showed that according to the current situation, a better safety component can predict the process of achieving security in urban spaces of District 15.