Community safety
What is community safety?
Community safety is a part of all aspects of our lives and is essential to health and wellbeing. It includes:
- increasing community wellbeing and cohesion, and social and cultural inclusion
- increasing opportunities for social and physical activity
- improving public amenities
- preventing and reducing hardship and insecure housing
- preventing and reducing incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour.
What is Council’s role?
We play a role in:
- fostering diversity, inclusion and social connection
- activating public spaces through community grants and funding
- providing supports for those experiencing hardship and insecure housing
- maintaining and upgrading public amenities and addressing identified blackspot issues
- fostering strong partnerships with emergency services, local traders and community groups
- activating and revitalising our highstreets
- developing regulations to promote and maintain safety
- maintaining safe public spaces through CCTV, Local Laws and joint patrols.
Our Community Safety Plan
The Community Safety Plan outlines how we’re working towards building a safe and connected community where everyone feels safe to live, work and play. The plan contains three key priority areas:
- Creating safe spaces – we aim to ensure that our public spaces – including streets, bike paths and corridors, entertainment precincts, foreshore and parks - are safe and well-maintained.
- Building resilience – we aim to foster diversity, inclusion, connection and resilience for all members of the community, including the most vulnerable.
- Healthy living – we aim to support a diverse and vibrant entertainment economy while reducing incidents of harm.
On 2 August 2023, Council extended the Community Safety Plan and updated the action plan to set priorities and initiatives to November 2025.
Read the revised Community Safety Plan v1.1 (PDF 1.7 MB)
Upcoming safety events
Community Safety Forum – Balaclava and St Kilda East
When: 5.30 to 7 pm, Monday 18 November 2024
Where: Alma Road Community House - 200 Alma Road, East St Kilda
Community Safety Forum - Elwood
When: 5.30 to 7 pm, Monday 2 December 2024
Where: Venue TBC