Community Safety & Well-Being Initiative

The current paradigm shift in Canadian human services away from siloed, reactionary measures towards upstream, multisector collaboratives, is becoming increasingly recognized as Community Safety and Well-being (CWSB).

The Ontario Ministry of Solicitor General (2017) describes CSWB as “the ideal state of a sustainable community where everyone is safe, has a sense of belonging, opportunities to participate, and where individuals and families are able to meet their needs for education, health care, food, housing, income, and social and cultural expression”.

In recent years, there has been a great emphasis on the importance of developing comprehensive and integrated upstream strategies to prevent crime and enhance community safety.

These efforts emphasize the importance of not only addressing the root causes and risk factors of crime, violence, and insecurity through evidence-based practice, but simultaneously contributing positively to the social and economic development of the community.

CSWB Planning brings together system leaders, organizations, and community members to co-create a vision and an actionable plan to improve safety and well-being in their community.

The City of Steinbach is following a comprehensive approach to CSWB planning developed by the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention with several stages, including:

• Preparation – forming a Project Working Group, developing a workplan, establishing an advisory/steering committee, and identifying local partners.
• Assessment – collecting data via community engagement (e.g. consultations and public CSWB surveys), reviewing existing data, etc.
• Identifying Priorities – analyzing data and forming a priority list, reviewing/validating process with Project Working Group, Steering Committee (see list of represented organizations below), etc.
• Developing a CSWB Plan – developing an action plan to address priorities, establishing governance model, implementing/evaluating key elements.