The Evolution of Community Safety and Well-being

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The concept of CSWB has evolved from earlier approaches such as "crime prevention" in England in the 1980s to more holistic and integrated frameworks. This shift was motivated by recognizing that community safety cannot be achieved through policing alone; it requires multi-sector collaboration addressing broader social determinants of health and safety. This paradigm shift has been seen in both the United Kingdom and Canada, where multi-agency partnerships were formed to address social issues beyond crime and include health, social welfare, and community development.?

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The roots of the Community Safety and Well-being (CSWB) approach can be traced back to the late 1980s and 1990s, with influences from both England and North America. Here are the key phases of the CSWB evolution:?

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Origins of the CSWB Approach?

1. Initial Shift in England (1986):?

The earliest reference to "community safety" dates back to England in 1986. The British government promoted a shift from "crime prevention" to "community safety," intending to broaden the responsibility of preventing crime beyond just the police and to include social and situational factors affecting criminality involving organizations, families, and communities.?

1. Development in North America:?

In North America, particularly in the U.S. and Canada, the community safety approach gained traction as a response to the limitations of traditional crime prevention strategies. There was a recognition that crime prevention needed to address broader social and economic conditions rather than focusing solely on law enforcement.?

1. Canadian Context (2000s-2010s):?

The term "Community Safety and Well-Being" began to gain prominence in Canada in the 2000s and 2010s, especially through multi-sector collaborative efforts aimed at addressing the root causes of social, health, and safety issues. Pioneering efforts in Saskatchewan and Ontario, such as the development of the "Hub Model" for collaborative risk-driven intervention, played a significant role in shaping the CSWB approach in Canada.?

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International Examples of CSWB Work or Concepts?

1. England and Wales:?

The concept of community safety in England and Wales includes forming multi-agency partnerships between the public, private, and voluntary sectors to create community-based measures against crime and anti-social behaviour. These initiatives have become widely implemented as part of local governance strategies to reduce crime and fear of crime.?

1. United States:?

• In the United States, the concept of community safety aligns with public health approaches to violence prevention and crime reduction. It emphasizes multi-sector collaboration, evidence-driven practices, and systemic solution-building, akin to the CSWB approach. Various states and municipalities have adopted community safety initiatives focused on upstream prevention and collaborative intervention strategies.?

• The U.S. has increasingly adopted a public health approach to community safety, emphasizing the reduction of violence and harm through holistic, community-driven strategies rather than a reliance on the criminal justice system alone. The Prevention Institute has outlined this approach in its "Community Safety Realized: Public Health Pathways to Preventing Violence" report, which suggests a multi-sector collaboration involving public health departments, community organizations, and policymakers. It focuses on reducing systemic inequities, such as structural racism, which contribute to violence, and highlights community-led safety strategies that are equitable and sustainable.?

• Specific examples include community-driven programs like the Parramore Kidz Zone in Orlando, Florida, which combines early childhood education, youth development, health care access, and family economic success programs to reduce juvenile arrests, teen pregnancies, and child abuse cases significantly?

1. Australia and Other Countries:?

• In Australia, community safety initiatives often involve collaboration between government agencies and communities, emphasizing shared responsibility and a holistic approach to reducing risks and vulnerabilities. The Australian Institute of Criminology, for example, promotes a public health model for crime prevention similar to CSWB frameworks used elsewhere.?

• In the UK, the What Works Wellbeing Centre has conducted a comprehensive review of community well-being, emphasizing the importance of inclusive, participatory approaches to enhance community safety and well-being. This involves understanding community needs from a collective perspective rather than through individual components. Community-based strategies like participatory budgeting and neighbourhood-based improvements have been highlighted as effective ways to achieve community safety outcomes.?

• In Canada, Ontario's CSWB Planning Framework guides municipalities and their partners in developing local CSWB plans. This framework stresses collaboration across sectors (e.g., health, education, law enforcement) to address risks before they escalate into emergencies, thereby enhancing overall community safety and well-being.?

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Conclusion?

?The roots of the Community Safety and Well-being (CSWB) approach lie in multi-sectoral collaboration and systemic change efforts that began in the late 1980s in England and expanded to North America in the following decades. The CSWB concept has been applied internationally with different focuses and has evolved into a framework that includes risk mitigation, multi-sector coordination, and systemic solution-building to enhance community well-being and safety.?

?The Brookings Institution proposes expanding community safety through public health strategies, such as increasing resources for low-income schools and creating new grant programs for youth-focused community centers and programs. This approach has been applied in initiatives like the Clean and Green program in Flint, Michigan, which demonstrated a reduction in violent crimes by engaging community members in maintaining neighborhood spaces.?

?These studies and frameworks reflect the evolution of the CSWB concept from a narrow crime-prevention focus to a broader, multi-sector approach that encompasses various aspects of community well-being, such as education, health, equity, and social justice. The strategies emphasize community-led initiatives and inter-sectoral partnerships, showing promising results internationally in creating safer, more cohesive communities.?

Reference:?

For more detailed insights, you may want to explore the full resources provided by What Works Wellbeing, Brookings Institution, and the Prevention Institute.?