Community safety in Waverley

What is community safety and how does it affect me?

Safer communities tend to be happier communities. Feeling safe and secure from harm is a crucial part of any healthy community and it is vital that we all work together to address common safety concerns.

Community safety is not the responsibility of just one agency or organisation. Rather, it is about creating community partnerships so that everyone-including Council, residents, local businesses and police-can share responsibility for crime prevention.

What is our role in crime prevention?

When we think of collective action on crime, we generally think about law and order-in other words, local police and the criminal justice system. This means waiting until a crime has already been committed and ignores the valuable role communities can play in preventing crime.

Council can take the lead in coordinating local crime prevention strategies because of its close relationship with residents and community groups. We have developed many strategies for local crime prevention and these can be found in our Community Safety Plan. The Plan responds to issues raised in community consultations and seeks to:

• Create a lively and engaging space at Bondi Junction where people of all ages feel safe and welcome, and where young people do not feel alienated.
• Address issues related to anti-social behaviour and alcohol-related violence at Bondi Beach and Campbell Parade.
• Improve the safety of women and children in Waverley, and continue to support and encourage domestic violence initiatives.
• Address residents' fear of crime by improving public spaces using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles.
• Promote stronger communities, build community spirit and promote diversity.

Practical ways we can work together to prevent crime

Many people still fear the 'unpredictable stranger' who lurks in dark spaces in the middle of the night-the dark alley or park, the open-air shopping mall after hours-and it is this perception of danger that prevents them from fully enjoying community life.

Law and order is a legitimate concern for many people, who naturally assume that if the rate of crime is reduced the fear of crime will automatically fall with it; but research has shown that this is often not enough. As a result it is important that crime prevention programs address residents' perceptions of crime as well as tackling more conventional crime issues.

The aim of prevention is to make crime harder to commit and to reduce criminal behaviour by changing the social conditions that lead to such behaviour. There are two ways of doing this:
Situational crime prevention aims to reduce crime through the management and design of the physical environment-for example, better street lighting, more pedestrian activity. The idea is to make crime more difficult to commit, increase the risk of detection, and reduce the rewards of crime. This is the basis of the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principle.

Social crime prevention by influencing the attitudes and behaviour of those likely to offend, and by reducing the risk factors known to be associated with offending (poor parenting and school failure).

But remember that we can all have a role in improving safety in our community. Residents can take practical steps like trimming trees to expose dark areas to street lights, making sure homes display prominent street numbering, and reporting crime to local police.

What is already happening to prevent crime?

Waverley Council already addresses community safety issues through its Waverley Community Safety Committee which meets every two months at Council Chambers. The committee is made up of Councillors and Council staff, business representatives, residents, police, and other community organisations; it makes recommendations to Council on community safety and crime prevention matters. Minutes of the meetings can be accessed through Council's website.

Some other local initiatives that Council may be involved in include:

• The Bondi Junction Strategic Plan has been developed in consultation with the community to plan for the needs of Bondi Junction into the future.
• The Bondi Junction Shopping Centre Protocol is a set of guidelines for all those who use the public and private spaces around the Bondi Junction CBD to make sure that people of all ages feel safe and welcome. While its focus is on young people, the protocol also seeks to promote cooperation between young people, community members, shopping centre management and security, police, Council rangers and shop owners.
• The Bondi Beach Alcohol Management Strategy was developed with funding from the NSW Attorney General's Department to address the issue of alcohol-related anti social behaviour at Bondi Beach, particularly over the Christmas and New Year period.
• Cooperation between the eleven members of the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils.
• Police are proactive in crime prevention, analysing data, developing specific strategies to reduce level of assaults, stealing, break and enter, motor vehicle theft, robbery and malicious damage. Police also liaise with the community through local precinct committees.
• Precinct Committees meet regularly to consider local issues, and police usually attend to discuss local crime issues.
• Waverley Action for Youth Services (WAYS) runs activities for young people in the area.
• The Bondi Outreach Project (BOP) is funded by Council and provides an outreach worker at key times, such as 11pm to 2am on weekends, to support young people who are in need or at risk.
• The Eastern Suburbs Domestic Violence Committee which brings together over 25 agencies in the eastern suburbs to address domestic violence issues.
• Norman Andrews House provides a drop-in centre in Bondi for homeless people. This service is funded by Waverley Council, Chapel by the Sea and the Department of Health.
• Bondi Beach Cottage runs groups and offers counselling for families affected by domestic violence and abuse.
• The Waverley Domestic Violence Court Assistance Scheme assists and supports women and children through all aspects of the court process in relation to domestic violence matters. It is one of 33 schemes funded by the NSW Attorney General's Department.
• Waverley Council and WAYS have run two Beat Graffiti Grant Projects at Bondi Beach in the past few years. Council provides legal wall space for graffiti projects at Bondi Beach and other locations as requested.

Other useful contacts:

Some useful links to other websites
Every effort has been made to ensure that these links are useful and up-to-date; however, please bear in mind that information contained in such sites may change over time.

http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/vaw/ll_vaw.nsf/pages/vaw_index
The Violence Against Women Specialist Unit website provides information about drink spiking, date rape and other issues affecting women. The NSW Strategy to Reduce Violence Against Women is the state government's key initiative to address violence against women.

http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/cpd
This link forwards users to the Crime Prevention Division of the Attorney General's Department of NSW. It provides details on crime prevention plans and projects, evaluation of crime prevention initiatives, the violence against women specialist unit, and the safer community development program.

http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lc/dvlink.nsf
DVlink is the initiative of a partnership between the Violence Against Women Specialist Unit, Local Courts and the Women's Domestic Violence Court Assistance Program. DVlink was launched in January 2000 and is an information and resources portal for people working with people affected by domestic violence in New South Wales, Australia.

http://www.aboutdaterape.nsw.gov.au
An accessible, easy to use site for young people about date rape, includes safety tips and how communities can act against date rape.

http://www.community.nsw.gov.au
Website for the NSW Department of Community Services. Provides information on a range of issues including parenting, childcare services, young people's services, protecting children, foster care and adoption.

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/community_issues
Provides information about NSW Police Crime Prevention Officers and details NSW Police Crime Prevention and Community Safety Strategies.

http://www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au
This site is an interactive electronic clearing house for everyone involved in community level social, economic and environmental issues including community leaders, community and government workers, volunteers, program managers, academics, policy makers, youth and seniors.

Last updated 06-Jul-2006