Nova Scotia is developing a community safety and well-being initiative with the help of three municipalities. The Town of New Glasgow, the Region of Queens Municipality and the Municipality of East Hants (in partnership with the Halifax Regional Municipality) will participate in the pilot project, according to the provincial government. “Their experience will help shape the provincial strategy and ensure it reflects the realities of communities across the province, including rural and remote areas,” the release reads. “The town of New Glasgow is facing very serious safety issues right now and we are not going to hide behind that or ignore it, anything that we can do including something like this pilot will help. It will get more people talking and more people involved and working together,” says Nancy Dicks, mayor of the Town of New Glasgow. The initiative aims to guide collective efforts to build safer and more resilient communities. The province is also working on tools to help municipalities create their own safety plans based on local needs and priorities. “The nature of this is it’s going to be more proactive, trying to deal with crime before it begins, that’s the difference we are talking about today. It’s going to hopefully target more root causes. If we can allow our police to remove their focus on so many calls, so many crises and let them focus a little bit more on being proactive in the community, that’s going to stop crime before it happens,” says Scott Armstrong, Nova Scotia’s attorney general and justice minister. “The diverse needs of the different municipalities around the province would shock you. Some of them are challenges we would say are very small, you know speeding or teenagers acting up on the weekend nights and others we have drug problems particularly up around the border, in Cumberland County, Colchester County and Pictou County.” Public Safety Canada is giving the initiative $550,000 through its Guns and Gangs Violence Action Fund. “Community safety and well-being planning allows us to focus on prevention, early intervention and the conditions that contribute to harm,” said Dicks. “Community safety is a shared responsibility that requires police, health, housing, social services, community organizations and residents to work together.” The initiative launched in response to a recommendation from the Mass Casualty Commission to move beyond siloed responses to crime and towards coordinated efforts focused on prevention. “By focusing on local priorities, we can strengthen collaboration, reduce barriers and help ensure people feel safe, supported and included in communities across the province,” said Justice Minister Scott Armstrong. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
