The Impact of Community Size and Characteristics on the Articulation of a Doubled Security and Social Dimension: The Case of Urban Mediators in France

In France, an increasing number of local authorities have developed programs focusing on “urban mediators”, which aim to reduce insecurity within districts referred to as deprived areas. These individuals make the rounds in such districts to ensure a calming presence for inhabitants as well as to speak with them. This street intervention allows mediators to meet with various persons distant from public services, such as drug addicts, juvenile delinquents, victims of domestic violence, or immigrants facing integration problems. This demonstrates that such interventions include security and social dimensions at the same time: The mediators intervene not only with persons who “cause” insecurity but also with those who suffer as a result of it. Therefore, they differ, on one hand, from the police, whose actions consist mainly of repression (Roché, 2004) and, on the other hand, from social workers, who intervene mainly in the long term as a result of requests.

These features led us to question the way the characteristics of different districts can influence the respective importance given to both dimensions (security and social) of the mission. The fieldwork and the analysis of archives performed since the year 2010 show that this action can be classified not only according to the degree of the municipal coordination but also to the community size (larger or smaller), the networks which the municipality has with other actors, and the social status and cultural background of mediators. This communication will reveal the impact of the municipal coordination on the articulation of these two dimensions, the process of construction of partner networks around the question of the insecurity, and the interaction between urban mediators and inhabitants.