“Community safety” gets used by police, politicians, nonprofits, and neighbours alike — but it doesn’t always mean the same thing. For some, it’s about reducing crime rates. For others, it’s about having secure housing, access to food, or safe transit home at night. Without clarity, the phrase risks becoming so broad that it loses meaning — or worse, gets co-opted.
Multiple Meanings in Play
Law enforcement lens: Safety as absence of crime and disorder.
Public health lens: Safety as protection from harm, stress, and disease.
Equity lens: Safety as fairness, belonging, and freedom from discrimination.
Community lens: Safety as trust, connection, and opportunity to thrive.
Why It Matters
Resource allocation: Billions are spent based on how we define safety — police budgets, social programs, infrastructure.
Community trust: If residents don’t recognize their reality in official definitions, partnerships fail.
Accountability: Without a clear definition, no one can measure whether safety goals are actually achieved.
Canadian Context
Indigenous perspectives: Safety rooted in cultural continuity, land, and kinship.
Urban priorities: Often focused on crime statistics, but residents name housing, addiction, and transit as safety concerns.
Youth voices: Many say safety means freedom from over-policing as much as from violence.
Policy shifts: Some municipalities experimenting with broader definitions in community safety and well-being plans.
The Challenges
Competing priorities: Police unions, social agencies, and communities rarely agree on what “safety” should mean.
Political spin: Safety often becomes shorthand for “tough on crime” rhetoric.
Community-led definitions: Let residents articulate what safety means in their own contexts.
Integrated metrics: Measure safety with social indicators (housing, health, trust) alongside crime data.
Transparency: Make definitions explicit in policies, budgets, and programs.
Dialogue: Create spaces where multiple safety perspectives are acknowledged and negotiated.
The Bigger Picture
Community safety is too important to be left undefined. If the phrase is going to guide policy, budgets, and partnerships, it has to reflect the lived experiences of the people it claims to protect.
The Question
If “community safety” can mean anything, it risks meaning nothing. Which leaves us to ask: how can Canada build a shared definition of safety that respects diverse perspectives while grounding real action?
What Does “Community Safety” Actually Mean?
The Problem With the Phrase
“Community safety” gets used by police, politicians, nonprofits, and neighbours alike — but it doesn’t always mean the same thing. For some, it’s about reducing crime rates. For others, it’s about having secure housing, access to food, or safe transit home at night. Without clarity, the phrase risks becoming so broad that it loses meaning — or worse, gets co-opted.
Multiple Meanings in Play
Why It Matters
Canadian Context
The Challenges
The Opportunities
The Bigger Picture
Community safety is too important to be left undefined. If the phrase is going to guide policy, budgets, and partnerships, it has to reflect the lived experiences of the people it claims to protect.
The Question
If “community safety” can mean anything, it risks meaning nothing. Which leaves us to ask:
how can Canada build a shared definition of safety that respects diverse perspectives while grounding real action?