The role of community participation in promoting social security from viewpoint of people in Kermanshah, Iran مقالة

Security has always been one of the most fundamental human needs. Also pople’s participation is an important factor in providing sustainable security. This study was designed with the aim of determining the role of people’s participation in social security promotion. The local residents had already expressed their concerns about the lack of security in the area through completing a prior 5-year continuous needs assessment (2006 to 2010) and through a voluntary structure participated in promoting neighborhood security. Data were collected using a 40-item researcher-made questionnaire and were analyzed in SPSS-16. The mean age of the participants was 41.86, and 57% were women. The community participation in some instances such as; “reporting thugs and drug dealers to police” with 32.2%, “removing trespassers in the area” with 32.9%, “fixing the lighting of the streets” with 34% were highly effective in their opinion. However the participation in areas such as; “reducing crime and offenses” with 35.8%, and “reducing unemployment and poverty” with 44.1% met with little impact, and in regard to “promoting local security” with 45.4% of the total votes was listed as an average effect. The Study indicate that people view their participatory activities in the area of security with 60% as influential. Therefore, it can be concluded that people’s power and capabilities in promoting local security can help the authorities, especially if the people’s needs in these matters are assessed and prioritized.