What is Community Safety?
Photo by Amer Mughawish on Unsplash
This is a post from the RECOVER Team
Have you been paying attention to the discussions about community safety? Have you heard about the Community Safety and Well-being Task Force that was created in response to requests to defund the police? The Task Force was given a mandate to “create actionable recommendations for Edmonton City Council regarding the future of community safety and well-being in the city that are anti-racist.” More information about the Task Force and their report with recommendations, Safer for All, can be found here.
On page 5 of the Task Force Report is a vision for community safety. The recommendations of the Task Force are designed to help achieve a vision for community safety in which Edmonton:
provides a sense of belonging
welcomes, values and includes all individuals of all backgrounds and circumstances
enables people to live without fear of being harmed, targeted or othered
enables people to fully engage with and participate in community
supports individuals and families in overcoming homelessness, poverty, addictions and other challenges
treats all individuals with respect and dignity
treats all individuals equal under the law.
On page 13 of the Safer for All report, there is this quote about community safety and wellbeing:
“What makes kids feel safe and good? Feeling like they belong. That connection back to culture and family and kinship and having that sense of self.”
In a recent article, urbanist, Jay Pitter, talks about the definition of public safety:
"I’ve found that grounding the conventional definition of public safety in actual communities to be both generative and illuminating. It becomes exceedingly clear that public safety is not merely the absence of physical threat; it is the presence of inclusive places shaped by equitable urban placemaking and policy. It is the visceral yet indescribable sense of belonging that is experienced in spaces which invite rather than tolerate differences. These places are concurrently sites of delight and community care, sites where we joyfully claim and cede space. Public safety is also characterized by grace and justice, where survival-based crimes like petty theft or sleeping on a park bench don’t lead to state-sanctioned shaming or death. Ironically, public safety is not primarily achieved by the blunt force of law but by the stewardship and compassion of everyday people invested in collective community wellbeing."
This perspective aligns with RECOVER. We would say that community safety can only be achieved with the involvement of people/neighbours in communities.
“Community safety can only be achieved with the involvement of people/neighbours in communities.”
When you think about the quote from page 13 of the Safer for All report - the one that relates to community safety and wellbeing, and speaks about belonging and connection - one is struck by the fact that belonging and connection are largely the jobs of community.
Think of community safety as a three legged stool. RECOVER can help with the third leg of the stool, the role of communities and of grassroots efforts as a critical -- and distinct -- complement to both government and social services.
Rather than conceptualize people as the end users or beneficiaries of public and social sector public safety efforts, and neighbourhoods as the places we intervene, how might we recognize and rebalance the role of people in the places they live? It stands to reason that improving community safety requires community to play a different role. People in communities need to be involved -- they need meaningful opportunities to engage, to draw on their own lived experiences, and to learn about some of the ideas and ways of thinking that can perpetuate stigma and separation, that make our communities less inclusive and less safe. Also, they need meaningful opportunities to learn how to engage meaningfully with each other. RECOVER Urban Wellbeing is about supporting tangible ways for people to connect across differences, in spite of tensions, about community-building actions that create more connected and inclusive communities - and yes, safer too.
As a steward of community safety and connection in your own neighbourhood, how have YOU invested in collective wellbeing?
How do YOU or your community build a sense of belonging for everyone?
Please feel free to email urbanwellness@edmonton.ca with your thoughts.
RECOVER Urban Wellbeing did propose 15 actions to support the Safer for All action plan. If you are curious to read about them, click here. It is under item 6.3, the report titled: “RECOVER Urban Wellness - Support for the Implementation of the Community Safety and Well-being Task Force Recommendations”.