By Melanie Kramer
Published December 1998
On October 23, Barbara Hall, former Toronto mayor and current chairperson for the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention, spoke at a day-long workshop on safer communities. Not only did she focus on crime prevention but also provided insights into the notion of what it means to be a community. These were ideas about community that, in the frenzied world in which we live, often get overlooked or pushed aside; ideas such as the importance of building bonds with one’s neighbours as opposed to fences and barriers. Emphasized throughout her presentation was community building involving everything from casual conversation to organized meetings with local politicians, all of which are integral to the formation of safer communities.
She also acknowledged more concrete ways in which safer communities can be developed. Many of these initiatives are the focus of the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention.
In her address Hall noted three primary issues in addressing the roots of crime and building safer communities. These include: the importance of safety in the physical, built environment; the need to focus on young people who may be at risk of offending and young offenders themselves; and third, the importance of public education on safety. Underlying these issues was the idea of bringing people together to form stronger community bonds.
The need to focus on safety in the physical environment involves things like ensuring adequate lighting and landscaping designed with safety in mind. While these are essential elements in community safety, Hall also believes factors such as front porches and open windows encourage community interaction and a sense of accessibility between neighbours.
What? Give up our-air conditioning for open windows? Next she’ll have us tearing down our fences and getting together for pot-luck on Sunday evening!
I don’t think Hall would specifically advocate the abolishment of air conditioners, the destruction of fences, or communal meals. Hall believes that what we really need to focus on “…are the kinds of things that create healthy communities, that promote good quality of life.” The physical environment can promote or hinder neighbourly relations. And indeed, Hall stated that one of the best security devices is people “out and about”. In order for us to be a community we need to be a community, rather than a group of individuals who happen to live in proximity to one another. The built environment as well as connections with neighbours are both part of safer, healthy communities.
In keeping with this outlook, Hall approaches the young offender or those likely to offend with an eye to the proactive initiative rather than simple reaction. By trying to address the root of the problem and prevent crime, Hall hopes to cut down on some of the approximately $46 billion government spends on responding to crime after it occurs. While she acknowledged that some young offenders do need to be in closed custody, some money could be better spent on things such as education, health care and community supports such as community or youth centres. This part of the initiative is particularly important in light of the fact that, as Hall pointed out, most people in jail have an education of Grade 9 or lower.
Indeed, Hall believes money is probably “…the smaller part of the cost of crime. The human cost and the quality of life cost is much greater. …both for the victim and for the offender.” A proactive stance toward those likely to offend and attempts to reform rather than simply punish young offenders is a much more humane way of dealing with these young people who may so often need guidance and support. She emphasized that, when quality of life is good, there is less crime. Hence, the need for the community to work together to help ensure good quality of life through things like education, health care and community centres.
Not surprisingly, Hall’s stance on public education was also very community oriented. Having been both robbed at gunpoint and attacked by a group of people when she was living in the U.S., Hall knows what it is like to be a victim. She confided that these experiences taught her to trust her instincts when in an unfamiliar or uncomfortable situation. She stated that on both occasions she had ignored her instincts about what was safe.
However instincts are not enough. People need to know how to react quickly and decisively in unsafe or outright dangerous situations. Hence, Hall believes education on distinguishing safe from unsafe circumstances and on how to respond to unsafe conditions is essential.
Education can also help to alleviate people’s fears. Fears can become a barrier to healthy communities by keeping people indoors, by making us distrustful of others, by preventing us from reaching out to others. Hall noted “there is often a difference between the reality and the perception.” Many people feel unsafe in situations which are, in reality, quite safe. For example, many women feel uneasy taking the TTC at night in Toronto, but crime on the TTC is actually quite rare. Thus, education can help to minimize these fears, as well as help us to deal with situations in which our fears may be warranted.
Education and public meetings also allow neighbours, politicians and police to make contact with each other. Not only can the public become better educated but the police and politicians as well. Giving people input into what they feel should be done to make their community safer allows people to feel in control in their neighbourhoods, promotes awareness of different safety issues, and fosters interaction. Through these interactions a stronger community is created.
It is this bond between people that makes community more than just a bunch of people living near one another. No, there don’t have to be regular potluck dinners (although there could be); but physical environment, community centres, education, meetings, listening to and connecting with one another are all integral to making our communities safer and preventing crime. These elements are also essential to building healthy communities and making a community the kind of place where people want to live.
