Definition of Community Safety
In your work in community safety, you will come across many terms to describe the work you do. Each agency that works in community safety has a slightly different slant on their work, but for the moment this definition will help you get started.
“… preventing, reducing or containing the social, environmental and intimidatory factors which affect people’s right to live without fear of crime and which impact upon their quality of life. It includes preventative measures that contribute to crime reduction and tackle anti-social behaviour.”
(Northern Ireland Community Safety Unit Website)
This definition, as with most others, focuses on quality of life. Unlike crime prevention and crime reduction that focus on specific techniques for preventing offences from happening, community safety covers a much wider range of issues that help make communities safer.
Question
Does your organisation or partnership have a definition of community safety? If so, how does it differ from the one given above? Make a note of the definition that your organisation uses and keep it with you as you work through this guide. It might help you to work out how to approach your role in your partnership.
