Safe Community
Thinking Outside the Lines - Community Safety, Crime and Weapons Offences
On Friday, June 20, 2008 the City of Brantford and the Brantford Police Service jointly hosted a community symposium at the Mohawk College Brantford Campus. The symposium, “Thinking Outside the Lines – Community Safety, Crime and Weapons Offences” was intended to initiate a community action plan to address growing concerns about crime and safety in the community.
In 2007 a series of violent crimes involving weapons inspired Councillor John Bradford to raise the issue of community crime and safety with City Council. In early 2008 City Council approved funds for a symposium to examine the reasons behind the growing concerns about crime in the City of Brantford.
The symposium focused on defining issues and identifying actions that would be achievable within the sphere of responsibility of local government, community agencies and the individual citizen. This focus led the event coordinating team to Dr. Irvin Waller, Professor of Criminology at the University of Ottawa and Executive Director of the Institute for the Prevention of Crime. Professor Waller’s strong message to local governments in his book “Less Law, More Order” was the subject of an inspirational key note address about innovative and proven successful strategies to address crime and violence at the grass roots level and at its root causes.
Forty participants represented neighbourhood associations, community support agencies, law enforcement, academia, Provincial ministries and municipal government. Their assessment of the issues facing our community and their advice about how those issues should be addressed form this report and its recommendations. A clear message emerged throughout the day – ensuring a safe community requires the coordinated efforts of all sectors of our community. Interestingly, this was echoed in the greetings brought to the event by the Governments of Canada and Ontario by Mr. St. Amand and Mr. Levac respectively who both, by coincidence, chose the same quote by Marian Wright Edelman:
“The challenge of social justice is to evoke a sense of community that we need to make our nation a better place, just as we make it a safer place.”
Other Community Safety Programs
Waterloo Region Community Safety and Crime Prevention http://www.preventingcrime.ca