Samenvatting

In this article we identify the political agency and discretion available to metropolises to define and accomplish their own policing agendas and to question what the role of public police forces can be in executing such agendas. Results of a comparative case study of 24 metropolises illustrate a major focus on risk management strategies like environmental opportunity oriented measures, hot spot hot time predictive policing actions and preventative community oriented policing. Also programs like Top 600 in Amsterdam and other early intervention efforts oriented towards ‘groups at risk’ (youngsters, nomads and criminal careers) find a place in the risk assessment regime. This article classifies all urban programs in 5 different ‘urban regimes’ and sheds light on the role the police should take in order to execute stated policy goals, summarized in urban policy coalition plans and security plans.