Crime and crime prevention is weighing heavily on citizens. Regularly I receive calls from residents concerned about crime in their neighbourhood. I heard many concerns when I was door knocking during the recent election. For the Waverley West ward, I’ve set up a series of crime prevention & education opportunities for residents:
- Crime Prevention Workshops
- Know your Neighbours- Block Parties
- Crime Awareness & Tools
- Your Role in Reporting Crime
But I also want to provide an overview of a larger City wide initiative underway that is very positive.
This past July, the City of Winnipeg issued $150,000 to establish recommendations for the creation of a Community Safety Strategic Action Plan to promote the development of healthy, crime-free neighbourhoods in Winnipeg. It will be plan enabling the City and citizents to affect real change. It is anticipate the study and recommendation will be completed late fall 2019. I am very supportive of this effort and will keep you updated as I know more.
HIGHLIGHTS from the Community Safety Strategic Action Plan Request for Proposals
The Community Services Department is leading a process on behalf of the City of Winnipeg to establish these recommendations. The project will:
- conduct an inventory and assess the current state of Crime Prevention Through Social Development (CPSD), community safety programs, services and related initiatives taking place in Winnipeg, as well as best practices for Community Safety Centres of Responsibility across Canada;
- engage key community stakeholders in Winnipeg for the purpose of identifying any barriers that could prevent, and any opportunities that could benefit, the successful implementation of community safety programs, services and related initiatives whose outcomes can be measured for the purposes of increasing community safety and wellbeing; and
- make recommendations for the establishment of a new or restructured Winnipeg community safety and wellbeing policy as well as a permanent municipal body to lead community safety stakeholder collaboration and provide direct or indirect support for stakeholders in Winnipeg.
The City of Winnipeg established a policy in 2008 entitled LiveSAFE, which was designed as an interconnected “strategic and collaborative network approach” to crime prevention. Under the banner of LiveSAFE, the City of Winnipeg currently supports a wide range of community safety programs, services and related initiatives, either directly throughprogram and service implementation and administration, or indirectly through funding support, Board or Steering Committee representation, etc. (see list below)
Although the LiveSAFE policy is often referred to in the course of general civic administration and through the development of new community safety-based programs and services, the policy itself has not directed the creation of a broad, civic led foundation for collaboration in Winnipeg due to a lack of sufficient policy supports (i.e. human and funding resource infrastructure). The principles that form the basis ofLiveSAFE in general remain valid, but the creation and endorsement by Council of a restructured municipal community safety and wellbeing policy that clarifies roles, strengthens the framework for regulating municipal community safety activities is required. Through this process of reviewing and making recommendations, the City is seeking to create the proper foundation to ensure that the policy is supported by the necessary municipal resources to safeguard long-term sustainability and is able to affect real change.
Examples of direct community safety program support by the City of Winnipeg include:
(i) Community Crisis Response;
(ii) Gang Response and Suppression Plan;
(iii) Derelict Property Committee;
(iv) Immigration Partnership Winnipeg;
(v) Extreme Weather Plan;
(vi) Sport Programs in Inner City Neighbourhoods;
(vii) Enhanced recreation programming;
(viii) Free Play Programming;
(ix) Youth Action Centres;
(x) Family-oriented programs;
(xi) Community Development partnerships;
(xii) Facility access and subsidized program registration;
(xiii) Inner City Safety Committee;
(xiv) Free Library programming;
(xv) Youth Advisory Councils Libraries program;
(xvi) Outreach Librarians;
(xvii) Youth Free Swim Nights;
(xviii) Free Admission at Non-Heated Outdoor Pools; and
(xix) Proactive Neighbourhood Liveability By-law Sweeps.
