One of the most prominent phenomena of the last decades in the field of crime control policies in many western countries is the development of policies and programs, of discourses and languages which share the common attempt to single out new approaches to crime prevention and safety or the need to shift resources and focus towards crime prevention, rather than on more reactive and coercive forms of policing and criminal justice. This paper explores some of the structural and cultural factors in the field of local safety and crime prevention policies developed in Italy during the last decade adding more credence to the hypothesis that what has been most influential is related mainly to the institutional dimension and to the role played by intentional political actors. The paper focuses on the origin, features, and definition of local governance of safety, the institutional conflict which is at the origin of these policies, the content of the local safety projects, and the character of partnerships and of communities’ involvement in local safety strategies. Notes, references