Over the last decade, ideas and plans about community safety in the Netherlands have changed fundamentally. Initially, crime prevention was to take place outside the realm of criminal justice and focus on addressing the causes of crime (mainly social). However, today, the penal rationale has permeated virtually all measures of crime prevention, with prevention now meaning proactive intervention on the basis of risk profiles. The fears of the law-abiding citizen are now the driving force behind the politics of public safety. Community safety politics once meant to fight against deprivation now seems to contribute to a more polarized society. This paper attempts to show how local concerns about safety lead to a national culture of control, and how global developments influence local debates on safety. Notes, references