For a brief time in the 1990s, I worked for Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region, investigating reports of child abuse and neglect. I still remember my first call to Waterloo’s Sunnydale neighbourhood. I couldn’t find the address I was looking for, so I asked a couple for directions. They took one look at my briefcase, asked ‘Are you a social worker?’, and refused to answer my question.
It’s no wonder people in Sunnydale didn’t welcome visitors in positions of ‘authority’. Back in the 1990s, the police responded to calls to that neighbourhood two to three times each day. The people felt that their home wasn’t a safe place to be, and at that time they were right.
Things have changed in Sunnydale. Crime is down and perceptions of safety – of belonging in the neighbourhood – are up. And the people who live there credit things like recreational programming, community-based services, and lots of resident-led social initiatives with turning matters around.
Waterloo Region devotes a third of its tax revenues to policing costs. We need to find more efficient and effective ways to create and maintain public safety. Crime prevention is key, and the key to crime prevention is social development with individuals and communities at risk, before crime happens.
It’s no wonder people in Sunnydale didn’t welcome visitors in positions of ‘authority’. Back in the 1990s, the police responded to calls to that neighbourhood two to three times each day. The people felt that their home wasn’t a safe place to be, and at that time they were right.
Things have changed in Sunnydale. Crime is down and perceptions of safety – of belonging in the neighbourhood – are up. And the people who live there credit things like recreational programming, community-based services, and lots of resident-led social initiatives with turning matters around.
Waterloo Region devotes a third of its tax revenues to policing costs. We need to find more efficient and effective ways to create and maintain public safety. Crime prevention is key, and the key to crime prevention is social development with individuals and communities at risk, before crime happens.