Today, I’m continuing my series on Langley City’s Citizens’ Assembly on Community Safety’s recommendations. You can read more about the Assembly and their first recommendation, as well as their second recommendation. Their third recommendation is Balancing Community Safety Prevention and Visibility.
Right now, our public safety system is more reactive than preventive. We all know we get better outcomes when we focus on prevention. This means that we need to shift our safety system so that people can access resources earlier.
A good example of shifting upstream is Project Black Feather, a joint program between the City, Township, and Langley School District, that reduces the likelihood of young people going down a dangerous path of gang and gun violence. Another example is improving how buildings and sites that are slated for redevelopment are secured to prevent fires.
Combining prevention with visibility is one of the Assembly’s major action items. The City and its partners would use data to proactively go to areas in our community with higher social needs or negative activity, working with RCMP, Bylaw, Fire, and other partners to increase visibility while also offering outreach, including housing stability, social support, and health options for all people in those areas. This would be meeting people where they are while also ensuring that parts of our community aren’t under- or overpoliced.
My next post will outline the Assembly’s supporting recommendations and the next steps.
No comments:
Post a Comment