Centre Wellington is considered the second safest community in Canada, according to Maclean’s magazine (Dec. 2011).
Now efforts are underway to have Wellington County formally designated as a Safe Community by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Community stakeholders and elected officials were invited to participate in the Safe Communities Wellington County workshop on March 21 held at the Wellington County Museum.
The event was sponsored by the Wellington County Police Services Board with the support of the Wellington County council.
Those attending included members of the Centre Wellington Fire Department, Ontario Provincial Police, Emergency Services, Groves Memorial Hospital and community health professionals, as well as business owners.
Guest speaker Barry King is a retired police officer and former chief of police, now has the role of provincial liaison for Safe Communities Canada, a national charity with a mission to make communities the safest places to live, learn, work and play.
Event organizer Scott Smith and Inspector and Detachment Commander of the Wellington County OPP, described a safe community as being “more than just crime prevention and reduction … A Safe Community is about protecting people from other types of harm, such as injury prevention.”
“The goal is to ascertain if there is enough interest in Wellington County to pursue the WHO’s designation of a safe community,” said Smith.
Making the presentation, King explained the history of the SCC, the requirements to attain SCC and WHO status and the outcome benefits for the community.
Key to his presentation was the The safety issues of focus in the mandate are those that are “predictable and preventable accidents.”
Adding that the justification for safety encompasses all 19 proper emergency codes used by hospital and emergency services, he asked the audience to consider the impact that those injuries have on the community, its health care system and the economy overall.
“The WHO says for every $1 a community invests in becoming a Safe Community will return $40 in savings,” King said.
He cited common issues such as injuries, motor-vehicle collisions, Sports accidents, childhood injuries, workplace safety, rural and workplace accidents as just a few of the examples of issues that can be averted in a community.
But there are the unknown facts within a community too, such as statistics provided by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons that state that 300 teens commit suicide every year.
“Seventy-eight per cent of injury-related deaths for seniors are caused by falls,” he said. “And 650 children die from injuries every year, nationally. These are predictable and preventable.”
King said the initiative “does not necessarily mean creating new programs” but it would require the pooling of existing programs and resources.
Instead, he referred to the Safe Communities goals as creating “value-added” services that “allow the community to do more with less resources, by sharing community resources.”
King cited examples in other communities where volunteers helped coordinate things like regular child safety car seat clinics, as opposed to having the police do those events sparingly, due to resources. Or enhancing safety measures like crossing-guards at dangerous intersections, preventative measures in Sports arenas or enhancing signs at railway crossings, to name a few.
“Safety is a responsibility of every person in the community,” King said. “It’s a core of community culture.”
King cited the community impact of gaining formal WHO Safe Community designation, including economic viability, partnerships, community pride and a culture of safety.
He believes Wellington County is in a good position to achieve Safe Community status.
“In Guelph and Wellington County, you are already doing a great deal … It’s a matter of saying ‘We’re together.’ This is a proactive statement of community values.”
Meeting the standards of Safe Community designation guidelines with the WHO is a detailed ten-step process.
“It takes a community,” Smith said. “It’s non-traditional policing, that’s why we need the community to drive it.”
Currently, there are 62 designated Safe Communities in Canada, 29 of which are located in Ontario, and only seven of them have achieved WHO designation.
The United States has 14 WHO Safe Communities, while worldwide there are 268.
