Safe communities
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Crime rates have fallen over the last three years, but safe communities will always be a major priority.
I firmly believe that the key to community safety is to focus on prevention. If we address the root causes of crime, by focusing on building supportive, inclusive communities and inventing in preventive services, we can make our neighbourhoods safer and healthier.
Over the last three years, I have worked hard to make Edmonton a safer place to live, and over the next three years I promise to continue to continue to work hard in the following areas:
1. Responsive police services
In my first term, I sat on the Edmonton Police Commission. In this time, we increased neighbourhood police presence and worked closely with communities to support community-based work. We met with communities across the city to better understand their unique needs.
I’ve also worked closely with police and families in the southeast to build relationships for long-term crime prevention and to improve police presence at hotspots like the Mill Woods Town Centre transit centre.
The results speak for themselves: serious crimes fell in 2009 and again in 2010.
2. Crime prevention through supportive, healthy communities
Throughout my first term, I also represented Council on the REACH Task Force, which developed a long-term plan to coordinate services and make Edmonton a safer city. The Task Force included representation from the city, school boards, police, and various other community services, and is a major step forward for safety in Edmonton.
The REACH Plan takes a community-based approach – making schools the hubs for reaching out to youth; providing services where and when they’re needed most; and partnering with communities to understand their unique needs. I want to make this vision a reality. As Advisor to the recently formed REACH Edmonton Council for Safe Communities, I will continue to pursue these goals.
Council also passed the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness, which I supported. This work has already supported over 400 housing units to get people in need off the streets and into safe housing.
3. Traffic safety in our neighbourhoods
Safety isn’t just about crime. We need to feel safe on our neighbourhood streets.
We know that a pedestrian struck at 30km/hour has a 90% chance of survival, while a pedestrian hit at 50 km/hour has a 10% chance of survival. Speed kills. I’m committed to reducing speeding in neighbourhoods, and I have supported a variety of projects including a pilot speed limit reduction in several neighbourhoods throughout the city.
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