Editing Bucharest (section)

== Government ==

=== Administration ===
{{See also|Bucharest metropolitan area}}

Bucharest has a unique status in Romanian administration, since it is the only municipal area that is not part of a [[counties of Romania|county]]. Its population, however, is larger than that of any other [[List of Romanian counties by population|Romanian county]], hence the power of the Bucharest General Municipality (''Primăria Generală''), which is the capital's local government body, is the same as any other Romanian county council.

The Municipality of Bucharest, along with the surrounding [[Ilfov County]], is part of the București – Ilfov development region project, which is equivalent to [[NUTS-II]] regions in the European Union and is used both by the EU and the Romanian government for statistical analysis, and to co-ordinate regional development projects and manage funds from the EU. The Bucharest-Ilfov development region is not, however, an administrative entity yet.
[[File:Bucureşti sectoare.svg|thumb|[[Sectors of Bucharest]]]]
The city government is headed by a [[Mayor of Bucharest|general mayor]] (''Primar General''). Since 29 October 2020 onwards, it is [[Nicușor Dan]], currently an independent politician previously backed by the [[National Liberal Party (Romania)|PNL]]-[[2020 USR-PLUS Alliance|USR PLUS]] centre-right alliance at the [[2020 Romanian local elections]]. Decisions are approved and discussed by the capital's [[General Council of Bucharest|General Council]] (''Consiliu General'') made up of 55 elected councilors. Furthermore, the city is divided into six administrative [[Sectors of Bucharest|sectors]] (''sectoare''), each of which has its own 27-seat sectoral council, town hall, and mayor. The powers of the local government over a certain area are, therefore, shared both by the Bucharest municipality and the local sectoral councils with little or no overlapping of authority. The general rule is that the main capital municipality is responsible for citywide utilities such as the water and sewage system, the overall transport system, and the main boulevards, while sectoral town halls manage the contact between individuals and the local government, secondary streets and parks maintenance, schools administration, and cleaning services.

The six sectors are numbered from one to six and are disposed radially so that each one has under its administration a certain area of the city centre. They are numbered clockwise and are further divided into sectoral quarters (''cartiere'') which are not part of the official administrative division:
*'''[[Sector 1 (Bucharest)|Sector 1]]''' (population 227,717): [[Dorobanți]], [[Băneasa]], [[Aviației]], [[Pipera]], Aviatorilor, Primăverii, Romană, Victoriei, [[Herăstrău Park]], [[Bucureștii Noi]], Dămăroaia, Străulești, [[Grivița]], 1 Mai, [[Băneasa Forest]], Pajura, Domenii, Chibrit
*'''[[Sector 2 (Bucharest)|Sector 2]]''' (population 357,338): [[Pantelimon, Bucharest|Pantelimon]], [[Colentina, Bucharest|Colentina]], [[Iancului]], [[Tei, Bucharest|Tei]], [[Floreasca]], [[Moșilor]], [[Obor]], Vatra Luminoasă, Fundeni, Plumbuita, Ștefan cel Mare, Baicului
*'''[[Sector 3 (Bucharest)|Sector 3]]''' (population 399,231): [[Vitan, Bucharest|Vitan]], [[Dudești, Bucharest|Dudești]], [[Titan, Bucharest|Titan]], [[Centrul Civic]], [[Dristor]], [[Lipscani]], Muncii, Unirii
*'''[[Sector 4 (Bucharest)|Sector 4]]''' (population 300,331): [[Berceni, Bucharest|Berceni]], [[Olteniței]], [[Giurgiului]], [[Progresul]], [[Văcărești, Bucharest|Văcărești]], Timpuri Noi, Tineretului
*'''[[Sector 5 (Bucharest)|Sector 5]]''' (population 288,690): [[Rahova]], [[Ferentari]], [[Giurgiului]], [[Cotroceni]], 13 Septembrie, Dealul Spirii
*'''[[Sector 6 (Bucharest)|Sector 6]]''' (population 371,060): [[Giulești]], [[Crângași]], [[Drumul Taberei]], [[Militari]], Grozăvești (also known as Regie), [[Ghencea]]

[[File:47, Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta, Bucharest (Romania).jpg|thumb|The [[Mayor of Bucharest|City Hall of Bucharest]] in 2020]]

Each sector is governed by a local mayor, as follows: Sector 1 – [[Clotilde Armand]] ([[Save Romania Union|USR]], since 2020), Sector 2 – Radu Mihaiu ([[Save Romania Union|USR]], since 2020), Sector 3 – [[Robert Negoiță]] (PRO B, since 2012), Sector 4 – Daniel Băluță ([[Social Democratic Party (Romania)|PSD]], since 2016), Sector 5 – Vlad Popescu Piedone (former mayor [[Cristian Popescu Piedone]]'s son) (PUSL, since 2024),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://jurnalul.ro/stiri/observator/marian-vanghelie-suspendat-din-functia-de-primar-al-sectorului-5-cine-ii-va-prelua-atributiile-686747.html |title=Marian Vanghelie, suspendat din funcția de primar al sectorului 5. Cine îi va prelua atribuțiile |work=Jurnalul Național |date=6 April 2015 |language=ro |access-date=17 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617191817/http://jurnalul.ro/stiri/observator/marian-vanghelie-suspendat-din-functia-de-primar-al-sectorului-5-cine-ii-va-prelua-atributiile-686747.html |archive-date=17 June 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Sector 6 – Ciprian Ciucu ([[National Liberal Party (Romania)|PNL]], since 2020).

Like all other local councils in Romania, the Bucharest sectoral councils, the capital's [[General Council of Bucharest|general council]], and the mayors are elected every four years by the population. Additionally, Bucharest has a [[Prefect (Romania)|prefect]], who is appointed by Romania's national government. The prefect is not allowed to be a member of a political party and his role is to represent the national government at the municipal level. The prefect is acting as a liaison official facilitating the implementation of national development plans and governing programs at local level. The prefect of Bucharest (as of 2024) is Mihai Mugur Toader.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020|title=Conducere |publisher=Prefectul Municipiului București|url=https://b.prefectura.mai.gov.ro/acasa/despre-noi/conducere/|language=ro|access-date=9 October 2021|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031082616/https://b.prefectura.mai.gov.ro/despre-noi/conducere/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== City general council ====

The city's [[General Council of Bucharest|general council]] has the following political composition, based on the results of the [[2024 Romanian local elections|2024 local elections]]:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="background:#ccc" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
! style="background:#ccc" | Party
! style="background:#ccc" | Seats
! style="background:#ccc" colspan="24" | Current Council
|-
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| [[United Right Alliance|USR + PMP + FD]] ([[United Right Alliance|ADU]])
| style="text-align: right" | '''17'''
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Save Romania Union}} &nbsp;
|-
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| [[Social Democratic Party (Romania)|Social Democratic Party]] (PSD)
| style="text-align: right" | '''16'''
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Democratic Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
|-
| {{party color cell|National Liberal Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| [[National Liberal Party (Romania)|National Liberal Party]] (PNL)
| style="text-align: right" | '''7'''
| {{party color cell|National Liberal Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|National Liberal Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|National Liberal Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|National Liberal Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|National Liberal Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|National Liberal Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|National Liberal Party (Romania)}} &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
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|-
| {{party color cell|Social Liberal Humanist Party}} &nbsp;
| [[Social Liberal Humanist Party]] (PUSL)
| style="text-align: right" | '''6'''
| {{party color cell|Social Liberal Humanist Party}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Liberal Humanist Party}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Liberal Humanist Party}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Liberal Humanist Party}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Liberal Humanist Party}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Social Liberal Humanist Party}} &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
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|-
| {{party color cell|Alliance for the Union of Romanians}} &nbsp;
| [[Alliance for the Union of Romanians|Alliance for the Union of Romania]] (AUR)
| style="text-align: right" | '''5'''
| {{party color cell|Alliance for the Union of Romanians}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Alliance for the Union of Romanians}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Alliance for the Union of Romanians}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Alliance for the Union of Romanians}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Alliance for the Union of Romanians}} &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
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|-
| {{party color cell|Renewing Romania's European Project}} &nbsp;
| [[Renewing Romania's European Project]] (REPER)
| style="text-align: right" | '''4'''
| {{party color cell|Renewing Romania's European Project}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Renewing Romania's European Project}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Renewing Romania's European Project}} &nbsp;
| {{party color cell|Renewing Romania's European Project}} &nbsp;
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|}

=== Justice system ===
[[File:Bucharest - Palace of Justice (Justizpalast) - no filter (29340923631).jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Palace of Justice, Bucharest|Palace of Justice]] seen across the [[Dâmbovița (river)|Dâmbovița River]] in 2016]]

Bucharest's judicial system is similar to that of the Romanian counties. Each of the six sectors has its own local first-instance court (''judecătorie''), while more serious cases are directed to the Bucharest Tribunal (''Tribunalul Bucureşti''), the city's municipal court. The [[Bucharest Court of Appeal]] (''Curtea de Apel Bucureşti'') judges appeals against decisions taken by first-instance courts and tribunals in Bucharest and in five surrounding counties (Teleorman, Ialomița, Giurgiu, Călărași, and Ilfov). Bucharest is also home to Romania's supreme court, the [[High Court of Cassation and Justice]], as well as to the [[Constitutional Court of Romania]].

Bucharest has a municipal police force, the Bucharest Police (''Poliția București''), which is responsible for policing crime within the whole city, and operates a number of divisions. The Bucharest Police are headquartered on Ștefan cel Mare Blvd. in the city centre, and at precincts throughout the city. From 2004 onwards, each sector city hall also has under its administration a community police force (''[[Poliția Comunitară]]''), dealing with local community issues. Bucharest also houses the general inspectorates of the [[Gendarmerie (Romania)|''Gendarmerie'']] and the [[Romanian Police|national police]].

=== Crime ===
{{Main|Crime in Bucharest}}
[[File:Romanian_Police_BMW_3_Series_G20_LCI_3_(cropped).jpg|thumb|250px|A National [[Romanian Police]] car]]
[[File:Politia_Locala_Bucharest_03.jpg|thumb|right|A car of the Local Police of Bucharest]]

Bucharest's crime rate is rather low in comparison to other European capital cities, with the number of total offences declining by 51% between 2000 and 2004,<ref name="crimestats">[http://b.politiaromana.ro/index.php?pag=statistica_2000_2004_ro&limba=romana Bucharest Crime Statistics 2000–2004] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716235025/http://b.politiaromana.ro/index.php?pag=statistica_2000_2004_ro&limba=romana |date=16 July 2011 }}, Bucharest Directorate-General of Police</ref> and by 7% between 2012 and 2013.<ref name=bucurestipolitia2013>{{Cite web|url=http://b.politiaromana.ro/pdf/bilant/Bilant+DGPMB-2013.pdf|title=DGPMB – Poliția Română|website=b.politiaromana.ro|access-date=1 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002071841/https://b.politiaromana.ro/pdf/bilant/Bilant+DGPMB-2013.pdf|archive-date=2 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Bucharest, along with [[Cluj-Napoca]], [[Timișoara]], [[Brașov]] and [[Iași]], was ranked among the top 100 safest cities in the world in a list compiled by Numbeo.<ref name="romania-insider.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.romania-insider.com/five-romanian-cities-top-100-safest-world-2023 | title=Five Romanian cities ranked in top 100 safest in the world | date=3 April 2023 }}</ref> The study found Bucharest to be very safe with regard to aspects such walking alone, home invasions, muggings, cars being stolen, assault, insults, assault due to skin color, ethnic origin, or gender, drug dealing, and armed robberies, with the only crimes in the high category being corruption and bribery.<ref name="romania-insider.com"/> In  2015, the [[List of countries by intentional homicide rate|homicide rate]] of Bucharest was 0,8 per 100,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dataunodc.un.org/data/homicide/Homicide+in+cities|title=Homicide in cities &#124; dataUNODC|website=dataunodc.un.org}}</ref>

Crime in Bucharest is combated by national forces, such as the [[Romanian Police]] and [[Gendarmerie (Romania)|Romanian Gendarmerie]], and by local forces, such as the Local Police of Bucharest.

[[File:U.S._&_Romanian_Forces_Conduct_Bilateral_Training_150225-M-XZ244-318.jpg|thumb|left|[[Romanian Gendarmerie]], which is tasked with high-risk and specialized law enforcement duties, demonstrates room-clearing during a training exercise in Bucharest]]

Although in the 2000s, a number of police crackdowns on [[organized crime|organised crime]] gangs occurred, such as the Cămătaru clan, organised crime generally has little impact on public life. Petty crime, however, is more common, particularly in the form of [[pickpocketing]], which occurs mainly on the city's public transport network. [[Confidence trick]]s were common in the 1990s, especially in regards to tourists, but the frequency of these incidents has since declined. Theft was reduced by 13.6% in 2013 compared to 2012.<ref name=bucurestipolitia2013 /> Levels of crime are higher in the southern districts of the city, particularly in [[Ferentari]], a socially disadvantaged area.

Although the presence of [[street children]] was a problem in Bucharest in the 1990s, their numbers have declined in recent years, now lying at or below the average of major European capital cities.<ref name="hf">{{Cite web |url= http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/press/16-pdf3.pdf |title= Worldwide Street Children statistics |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111208075915/http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/press/16-pdf3.pdf |archive-date= 8 December 2011 |df= dmy-all }}&nbsp;{{small|(20.5&nbsp;KB)}}, [[Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize]]/[[Council of Europe]]</ref>

=== Quality of life ===
As stated by the [[Mercer (consulting firm)|Mercer]] international surveys for quality of life in cities around the world, Bucharest occupied the 94th place in 2001<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.expat.or.id/info/qualityofliving.html |title=Worldwide Quality of Living Survey |publisher=Expat.or.id |date=11 March 2002 |access-date=14 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415143434/http://www.expat.or.id/info/qualityofliving.html |archive-date=15 April 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> and slipped lower, to the 108th place in 2009 and the 107th place in 2010. Compared to it, Vienna occupied number one worldwide in 2011 and 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.actmedia.eu/top+story/bucharest+keeps+108+in+the+mercer+top+dedicated+to+life+quality+/20379 |title=Bucharest keeps 108 in the Mercer top dedicated to life quality |publisher=Actmedia.eu |date=30 April 2009 |access-date=14 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006194411/http://www.actmedia.eu/top%2Bstory/bucharest%2Bkeeps%2B108%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bmercer%2Btop%2Bdedicated%2Bto%2Blife%2Bquality%2B/20379 |archive-date=6 October 2010 }}</ref> Warsaw ranked 84th, Istanbul 112th, and neighbours Sofia 114th and Belgrade 136th (in the 2010 rankings).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.articles.totallyexpat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/QoL-2010-Rankings.pdf |title=2010 Quality of Living global city rankings – Mercer survey |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128070248/https://www.articles.totallyexpat.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/QoL-2010-Rankings.pdf |archive-date=28 January 2012 }}</ref>

Mercer Human Resource Consulting issues yearly a global ranking of the world's most livable cities based on 39 key quality-of-life issues. Among them: political stability, currency-exchange regulations, political and media censorship, school quality, housing, the environment, and public safety. Mercer collects data worldwide, in 215 cities. The difficult situation of the quality of life in Bucharest is confirmed also by a vast urbanism study, done by the [[Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://csb2035.ro/pdf/rezumat/CSB_rezumat.pdf |title=Conceptul Strategic București 2035 ETAPA I – see page 44 ref. to quality of life in Bucharest |access-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125021515/http://www.csb2035.ro/pdf/rezumat/CSB_rezumat.pdf |archive-date=25 November 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2016, Bucharest's urban situation was described as 'critical' by a Romanian Order of Architects (OAR) report that criticised the city's weak, incoherent and arbitrary public management policies, its elected officials' lack of transparency and public engagement, as well as its inadequate and unsustainable use of essential urban resources.<ref>De ce e nevoie de Legea Bucureștiului. Arhitecții au lansat Raportul pentru București 2016 [http://www.romaniacurata.ro/de-ce-e-nevoie-de-legea-bucurestiului-arhitectii-au-lansat-raportul-pentru-bucuresti-2016/ Romania Curata, 3 August 2016] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018222706/http://www.romaniacurata.ro/de-ce-e-nevoie-de-legea-bucurestiului-arhitectii-au-lansat-raportul-pentru-bucuresti-2016/ |date=18 October 2016 }}</ref>
Bucharest's historical city centre is listed as 'endangered' by the [[World Monuments Watch]] (as of 2016).<ref name="wmf.org" />

Although many neighbourhoods, particularly in the southern part of the city, lack sufficient green space, being formed of cramped, high-density blocks of flats, Bucharest also has many [[Urban park|parks]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.romania-insider.com/green-is-good-ten-large-parks-in-bucharest/|title=Green is good: Ten large parks in Bucharest – Romania Insider|first=Irina|last=Marica|date=22 June 2015|website=Romania-insider.com|access-date=1 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002070653/https://www.romania-insider.com/green-is-good-ten-large-parks-in-bucharest/|archive-date=2 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2024, Bucharest was ranked by the digital publication Freaking Nomads as the 9th best city in the world for [[digital nomad]]s, due to its elaborate and diverse architecture, an arts scene featuring some of the world's best galleries, museums, and theatres, and its tranquil parks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.travel2latam.com/news-89760-the-best-cities-for-digital-nomads-worldwide|title=The best cities for digital nomads worldwide|website=en.travel2latam.com|date=May 10, 2024|access-date=May 10, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.romaniajournal.ro/business/bucharest-included-again-among-the-best-cities-for-digital-nomads-worldwide/|title=Bucharest, Included Again Among The Best Cities For Digital Nomads Worldwide|publisher=Romania Journal|date=May 10, 2024|access-date=May 10, 2024}}</ref>