Posted on: October 27th, 2011 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been writing about placemaking. In part because we just had a fantastic event with Cynthia Nikitin of the Project for Public Spaces, but also because placemaking is a great, ‘smart on crime’, crime prevention tool for neighbourhoods and communities. The Festival of Neighbourhoods in Kitchener, Ontario, is a perfect example of placemaking in action.
Created as a “throw a community party, plan a project and get to know your neighbours” kind of event, the Festival of Neighbourhoods has become a great deal more. That “throw a party” approach has led to strengthened community connections and interactions among neighbours where engaged, everyday people make a difference in their community, every day.
In recent decades, society and technology has changed so much that we now spend less time connecting with each other, face to face, and more time at work, in front of screens, in our cars and in our homes. Getting to know the people who live next door and down the street really can make you happier knowing there are folks close by that you can count on.
In crime prevention the saying goes that “a connected community is a safer community”, which is why we, at the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council has sponsored the “Safer Neighbourhood” award at the Festival of Neighbourhoods for the last number of years. The award is for a neighbourhood that hosted an event with the intention of creating a safer community through activities related to community safety, safety awareness and crime-prevention.
Festival of Neighbourhoods – Winners of the Safer Neighbourhood Award
The winner of this year’s “Safer Neighbourhood” award was the Victoria Park Neighbourhood Association for their Henry Sturm Community Festival. The neighbourhood organized a clean up to raise awareness about a neglected, but much loved wooded area along a stretch of the Iron Horse Trail that backs onto many properties in the community. But more importantly, they held a tree planting ceremony in memory of their neighbour who lost his life on New Year’s Eve 2010 on the very same trail behind their houses. It was a chance for family, friends, neighbours and supporters to honour his life and the contributions he made to the neighbourhood which included friendly hellos, a helping hand and time to stop and chat.
This community festival held by a group of caring and committed neighbours is placemaking in fine form. The kind of connections established and maintained within this group will do more for creating a strong sense of place, safety and community than real estate values, fancy design and planned communities could ever do.
Here at the Crime Prevention Council, we have another saying: “Together for a safer community”. We all have a role to play in making and creating safer communities and one way is through building stronger connections with the people who live around us.
What ‘smart on crime’ actions are you taking in your neighbourhood to build connections… and have a little fun?
Fulfilling an election promise, the Government of Canada recently introduced the “Safe Streets and Communities Act” or Bill C-10. If passed, Bill C-10 would significantly amend the Canadian Criminal Code and related legislation. C-10 is an omnibus bill that includes nine pieces of proposed legislation covering changes from mandatory minimum sentences to tougher penalties for selected crimes. The government has promised to pass this Bill in the first 100 days of Parliament.
What’s the rush?
The government is well aware a 30-year obsession with “law and order” in the United States has been politically popular but has actually failed to reduce crime. Facts are facts and the failure of the US “tough on crime” approach (among others) is well documented. Unfortunately, Canadians are debating crime more than the weather these days, blissfully unaware of how much they will pay to implement a law whose major components have been proven failures in other lands.
From a crime prevention perspective such public interest in building safer communities is always a positive development. Everyone has a role to play and we can’t and shouldn’t leave the work up to any one order of government and its institutions. It’s a teachable moment.
That’s why the time frame of 100 days to discuss a major overhaul of the Canadian justice system is completely inadequate. Of course, everyone wants “safe streets and communities”, but in a classic American move this Bill lumps in everything from sexual abuse of children to possession of marijuana. If you disagree with the pot provision God help you because then you must also be “soft’ on sexual abuse of kids. The populist needs of a government should not stop Canadians from assessing how each specific piece of legislation tossed into this soup will affect the balance between prevention, rehabilitation, restitution and denunciation.
Some of the measures (such as Serious Time for Serious Crime Bill and the Abolition of Early Parole Act) will increase the number of inmates in an already over-crowded prison system from 13,000 to more than 17,000. Such huge increases come with huge costs. Adding more than 4,000 more inmates will mean spending an additional $1.8 billion over five years. And that is the just the federal cost. The provinces already pay to incarcerate more than 20,000 inmates at the current status. During a time of vast fiscal restraint such needless pressure on taxpayers to solve a problem that doesn’t exist is excessive and irresponsible.
In the end, the main question must be whether C-10 will in fact accomplish what the government says it will do: increase public safety. Unfortunately the answer is a resounding NO. Substantial research shows that “tough on crime” strategies have neither reduced crime nor assisted victims. And all of this is happening at a time when crime has been at its lowest in decades across the country.
So, let’s recap: during one of the lowest crime rates in history and in the midst of a crippling recession where people are losing jobs in droves the federal government is implementing a scheme that has failed elsewhere at a cost that will more than double Canada’s current public safety budgets.
This is not OK, and Canadians deserve a full and proper debate on each and every component of the omnibus bill.
Posted on: October 7th, 2011 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
‘Placemaking’ is fast becoming a new ‘buzz word’. But what does it really mean anyway? It ends in ‘ing’ so that means it’s a verb, which means some kind of action is happening… What kind of action is required to ‘make a place’? And what does ‘making a place’ have to do with crime prevention and being smart on crime?
Well, the good folks at the Project for Public Spaces (PPS) in New York have a lot of experience with ‘placemaking’. In fact, it’s their entire philosophy. To PPS, placemaking is simply an approach for creating and/or transforming safe public spaces (e.g. civic squares, markets, streets, parks & trails, public buildings, transportation, downtown areas, etc). This approach engages community residents and decision-makers in the process and the ultimate purpose is to create spaces and places that are vibrant, dynamic, safe and healthy.
So, why does this matter to crime prevention?
We know from the work of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) that people feel uncomfortable or fearful in places and spaces that look and/or feel unsafe or dangerous. There’s a domino effect here – if people don’t feel safe in a public place, people don’t go there. If people don’t go there, most likely the space doesn’t get used for what it was intended. When ‘legitimate’ use of a space doesn’t take place, quite often, less desirable activities will take its place. Placemaking can help to turn a place around.
One of our roles as the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council (WRCPC) is keep our area municipalities engaged in the very important role they have to play in municipal-based crime prevention. Building on events we’ve done in the past, WRCPC has engaged Cynthia Nikitin from Project for Public Spaces to visit Waterloo Region on October 20 & 21, 2011. Cynthia will present a freepublic talk and workshop on community safety and crime prevention through placemaking. You can register here for both events.
So, why does this matter to municipalities?
Municipalities are the closest level of government to the places where we live, work and play. Decisions made at the municipal level have the most direct impact on the public spaces in our neighbourhoods and communities. We know that vibrant, dynamic, safe & healthy public spaces and neighbourhoods play a very important part in community life. They are effective for:
increasing social interaction and cohesion
reducing crime and fear of crime
increasing perceptions of safety
encouraging legitimate activity & discouraging less desired activity
developing a sense of ownership among community residents
improving “liveability” in neighbourhoods
While talking with many people about these events, I’ve heard the same comment several times…. “Wow, I’ve never thought about crime prevention that way before, but it makes total sense!” Smart on crime is all about using evidence-based solutions for challenges facing our communities related to crime, fear of crime and victimization. Placemaking has been proven to work. Often, the best solutions are not the most expensive or the most complicated. The solutions that work are the ones where the community is directly involved in the creating the solution and where the community takes continued ownership for making a place their own.
We’ll be posting several more articles over the next few weeks on the topics of crime prevention, placemaking, public space and community safety. Have you had experiences with placemaking? Good, bad, or otherwise? Tell us your placemaking story.
Posted on: September 27th, 2011 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
With a zang and a zing
The bells of parliament did ring
To signal the new season
Of parliamentary reason
The message was clear
To all who could hear
“Changes in law are coming this fall
Our omnibus is big, our orders are tall
We’ll do what we said, we have the right and the votes,
The cost and the outcomes…. We’ll get to that footnote”
“We’ve got plans for these thugs, these thugs and their drugs
We’ve got a majority – no time for soft hugs
If you can’t do the time
Then don’t do the crime
Please, don’t waste our citizens’ dime
With all your prime time crime”
It’s a puzzle, yes, a puzzle, said the people
Who gathered in places with town halls & tall steeples
And online in real time, they talked about crime
About tougher and smarter, ways to spend dimes
The people said, I don’t understand, you see
Why the big rush for an omnibus accompli?
The people said, I find it so curious
These facts and these claims, all looking so spurious
Curious why…
A fortune is spent for prison invention
When just scraps are left in the name of prevention
Curious that…
There is not time for ‘wasting’ on research and cost
Really? The moment must be seized before the moment is lost?
Curious why…
Evidence, history, stats experts, unheeded
All of whom know that a smart way is needed
Curious why…
We can’t learn from the change that now sweeps the US
Where 30 years of ‘law and order’ caused such a mess
With crime rates at the lowest in history
The toughness of Bill C-10, well, it’s a bit of a mystery
The people, they called and they wrote
They said, hey, we don’t need this omniboat
No omniboat, no omnibus
And we’re prepared to cause a big fuss
They said to the Bill, this is just NOT for us
Where is the prevention in your big omnibus?
We won’t stand by to see budgets flagrantly tossed
As a tough brand of justice is royally embossed
Let’s get smart, smart on crime, said the people
Who all got busy in places with town halls and tall steeples
Working smarter on crime
Seems more worth our time
And easier on the citizens’ dime
So, let’s build a movement, a movement for change
Let’s get creative, a few things to rearrange
We’ve got plans too, for the way things get done
This community is smarter, second to none
Here we go, watch us go
Collaborate
Evaluate
Anticipate
Animate
Invigorate
Validate
Captivate
Authenticate
Participate
Negotiate
Coordinate
Concentrate
Elaborate
Generate
Recreate
Advocate
Integrate
Cultivate
Accentuate
The smarter way to go
Posted on: August 22nd, 2011 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Until recently, there was a fairly narrow dichotomy in perception of approaches to crime; you were perceived as either “tough on crime” or “soft on crime”. It’s good to see we are charting new territory with the language we use to describe our approaches “on crime”. The “on crime” slogans and taglines are becoming more diverse, but no less politicized.
As early as 2007, in Canada, the leader of the Canadian New Democrat Party at the time, Jack Layton, gave a speech titled “Getting Smart on Crime“.
In 2009, California State’s top prosecutor, Kamala Harris, was running for the top job of District Attorney. She published “Smart on Crime” which formed the basis of her election platform.
Right on Crime [United States] – A conservative approach that advocates increased public safety while reducing corrections costs
Smart on Crime Policy [United States] – shortly after being elected, District Attorney Kamala Harris [California], launched her Smart on Crime Transition Team and set out their areas for reform
Language is powerful and the words we use to talk about crime, crime prevention and responses to crime have a significant impact on our attitudes toward crime. Let’s use them wisely.
Have you come across other “on crime” initiatives that we don’t know about yet? What about “on crime” initiatives in other languages? We’d love to hear about them.
Posted on: May 8th, 2011 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris is talking our language of ‘smart’. Okay, so maybe she’s a little bit ahead of us…. she has already written a book “Smart on Crime“, and has a state-wide Smart on Crime Transition Team to assist her with the monumental task of overhauling California’s approach to crime and crime prevention.
solutions to issues of gang violence can be learned from public health approaches
gang issues need to be addressed through with a combination of prevention, intervention and enforcement
issues must be addressed consistently across regions rather than each city working in isolation
schools and education can play a major role in reducing risk factors for youth
rely on evidence-based intervention programs to help youth exit gangs when they are ready
Here in the Region of Waterloo we also have a ‘smart’ approach to addressing the issue of youth in our community who are gang involved at risk joining a gang. inREACH is operating locally to provide youth with one-on-one support, group work, housing support, employment counselling, addictions support and recreational activities. inREACH works as a collaborative of community agencies and schools wholly invested in supporting the success of young people wanting to make a change.
Teens and pre-teens face daily relationship challenges. Words and actions do threaten and hurt. With all the campaigns aimed at preventing and reducing teen bullying, harassment and violence, we’ve come across a few that we like… and also seem to resonate with teens.
That’s Not Cool.com, is a website for pre-teens to learn about appropriate behaviour in dating relationships and what could be warning signs of potential relationship violence. The site offers safe ways for teens to identify and ‘call out’ behaviour that is… ‘not cool’.
ThinkB4youspeak.com challenges youth to think about the words they use in everyday language and that peers can feel victimized by pervasive use of hurtful language. ThinkB4youspeak.com has several ‘hit-it-home’ videos aimed at the use of the phrase “that’s so gay”. The Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN), creators of the website, knows that changing attitudes and language used by teens is no easy task… but it’s an important education effort to prevent LGBTQ youth from being hurt, threatened, stalked or humiliated.
ThinkB4youspeak.com encourages youth to make their ‘that’s so day’ videos. Here’s one of the best.
What smart resources have you come across that help to prevent victimization among teens and youth? Add a comment below to share them with us.
Individuals with a criminal record can face significant barriers to gaining employment upon release from prison. One of the single most important factors for reducing recidivism is finding a job.This week, the Waterloo Region Record talked with Jessica Hutchison about the upcoming Employment Forum for Federally Sentenced Women. Being smart on crime means “finding good, sustainable jobs to ensure that women leaving the prison have a successful change at reintegrating into the community”.
The forum is open to community members and takes place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 7 2011. For more information or to register, contact Jessica Hutchison at jhutchison[at]regionofwaterloo.ca or 519-575-4757 ext. 5260.
Here’s something we would say fits solidly in the ‘Smart on Crime” camp. Today, the Waterloo Region Record reports on the announcement of a drug treatment court for the Waterloo Region and area.
The justice systems (police, corrections, courts) have long identified drug and alcohol addiction, along with mental health issues, to be at the root of a high percentage of cases ending up in the criminal justice system. Most agree the justice system is not the best place, or most cost effective, to treat a drug or alcohol addition. In fact, most cycle through the revolving door as the root cause of the issue is never addressed.
Alternative approaches, such as drug treatment courts, are some success in getting to the roots of addition, criminal activity and incarceration for some individuals… and breaking the cycle of crime.
Update: On Thursday February 17, The Current, a program on CBC radio, interviewed the Calgary Chief of Police, Rick Hanson, about his plans for developing more effective ways to deal with additions in the justice system. The interview is well worth a listen – great food for thought!
As the theme of Smart on Crime in Waterloo Region began to take shape, we wanted to make sure that this community plan reflected your ideas of what ‘smart on crime’ means. We took to the ‘internet streets’ and asked you to share your ‘smart on crime’ ideas. The challenge was thrown down….
In 7 words or less, we invite you to finish this statement:
“Being Smart on Crime means…”
If you would like to add your ‘Smart on Crime means…’ statement, feel free to add it using the comment box at the bottom of the page.
Here is the growing list of responses we’ve received.
a commitment to preventing crime ~ Bill Davidson, Langs Farm
connecting what’s right with what works
~ Christine Bird, Alliance for Children & Youth of Waterloo Region
best decisions for today and the future identifying and addressing social disparity
investing in PREVENTION, not prisons
~ John Shewchuk, Waterloo Catholic District School Board & WRCPC Chair
community involvement; people don’t victimize an “US” ~ Graham Yeates, 2010 Candidate Kitchener Ward 9
community awareness, active participation = safe city ~ Giselle
commitment to long term investments and approaches engaging communities, identifying needs and developing strategies
~ Chris McEvoy, Kitchener
understanding, connecting and caring for all citizens ~ Julie Hill, Waterloo
making prevention a community priority ~ Susan Cameron, Kitchener
making prevention a priority ~ Jane Mitchell, Regional Councillor, Region of Waterloo
