Selkirk is one of 11 communities selected to participate in the Government of Manitoba’s Community Safety and Well-being (CSWB) Pilot Project. As such, the city will be developing and implementing a local CSWB plan and is seeking resident input to inform this process.
Developing a comprehensive and successful community safety and well-being plan requires input from the local community. This project will involve several community engagement approaches, beginning with a CSWB resident survey, which will be available for residents to complete until July 31, 2024. The survey asks about several aspects of community safety and well-being and no sign up is required.
Take the community safety and wellbeing survey here
“This will be a community plan and we will need the community to build it,” says Kristy Hill, Selkirk’s Director of Protective Services.
“People who complete the survey will be shaping the plan and a better future for Selkirk.”
In 2022, Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen announced the Manitoba Government would invest $1.4 million into the pilot program, aimed at helping communities take steps to reduce crime, promote safety, and enhance well-being.
“Research shows that community safety and well-being planning supports a collaborative approach to addressing local priority risks to safety and well-being by establishing programs and strategies in four planning areas including social development, prevention, risk intervention, and incident response,” Goertzen said.
“This proactive planning process can help communities reduce crime and other risks using evidenced-based responses that address unique local circumstances and the needs of residents.”
Identifying existing programs and practices and gaps that need to be filled
The province has hired the Canadian Centre for Safer Communities (CCFSC) formerly the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention, as the lead consultant for the project and they are working with Selkirk’s steering committee which consists of representatives from the RCMP, START, Selkirk Community Renewal Corporation, IERHA Mental Health, Manitoba Housing and Families, City of Selkirk, Lord Selkirk School Division, Manitoba Harm Reduction Network, along with members of the community.
The city and the steering committee have been working to identify what programs and best practices already exist as well as system gaps and ways all stakeholders can work together to create a safe and healthy environment for everyone.
Hill says the city has several existing programs aimed at making the city safer including graffiti removal, a year-round service that responds to calls of graffiti from public and private property. The city also uses environmental design strategies, like strategic lighting and vegetation when doing infrastructure work to act as a deterrent to crime.
City staff also include cleanups, as needed, during their day-to-day activities and the city has events like spring clean-up to dispose of larger items. There are also focused plans for repeat problem areas throughout the city.
“The city’s involvement in the provincial Community Safety and Well-being Pilot Project underscores its commitment to enhancing community safety and well-being,” Hill said.
“The aim is for a safer, healthier, and more inclusive city that fosters pride and a sense of belonging amongst its residents.”
Looking for a variety of perspectives and experiences
The CSWB survey, which was developed by CCFSC and customized for Selkirk, has 61 questions, but Hill says for the plan to have teeth it needs to be developed with citizen responses in mind.
“Yes, it’s long, but it’s also detailed and vital to the success of this plan,” she said.
“We want people to have their say and we want to know how people perceive community safety. We want to hear from people with a variety of perspectives and experiences.
She says it will be available on the city’s website and there will be hard copies at locations throughout the city. Teams will also head out into the community to meet with people and help them complete the survey if needed.
Questions about health, safety, relationships and community
There are a variety of questions meant to understand participants’ views on their physical and mental health, how safe they feel in their own neighbourhood, concern with the likelihood of various crimes occurring to them personally, and whether they’ve been the victim of various crimes as well as questions about substance use, relationships with their community, etc. The survey also includes questions about access to recreation, arts, and health care.
In addition to seeking feedback from adults in the CSWB planning process, Daryl Loeppky, Principal at Ecole Selkirk Junior High, and the Lord Selkirk School Division’s representative on the steering committee, says engaging students in the survey and creating the plan isn’t just a good idea, it’s crucial to the plan being a true representation of the community.
“Students, I know it sounds like a cliché, but students are not only the future of Selkirk they are currently an active part of the community, and they have a unique perspective on safety and wellbeing. I think it would be remiss not to gather their thoughts and opinions on the matter,” Loeppky said.
“Students under 18 can’t vote for city councillors, but they can certainly have a say here in terms of where in town opportunities are to improve safety, where there are opportunities for recreation or opportunities to improve things that we haven’t considered.”
The school division has a captive audience inside the classroom, so that’s the easy part, Loeppky says, but he’s confident the committee, guided by CCFSC’s expertise, will go beyond school walls to reach more young people.
“The consultant has a history of engaging youth,” he says.
He can envision trips to the skateboard park or Youth for Christ, meeting young people where they congregate, to ensure as many as possible have an opportunity to take part.
“I do think kids feel empowered when they have a voice and certainly when they have a say in the community they live in,” Loeppky said.
“I think ultimately the goal of this project is to reduce young people’s exposure to the Justice System or the health system, quite frankly, in its most rudimentary sense. The less kids that we have in contact with the Justice system or the Health system the better.”
All community members encouraged to complete survey
This reflects just one of the ways the city is taking steps to increase survey response rates and broaden the perspectives of those who complete it. All community members are encouraged to consider completing the survey so their input can inform Selkirk’s CSWB plan.
The survey went live on June 3 online at MySelkirk.ca/CommunitySafety. Hard copies are available at the civic office at 200 Eaton Avenue and the following locations or organizations:
- START
- Public Health/Manitoba Harm Reduction
- The Gordon Howard Center
- Inclusion Selkirk
- Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen
Take the survey today! and help develop a comprehensive and successful community safety and well-being plan for Selkirk.
