About Us

Who We Are

Safe Communities Richmond is a group of like-minded organizations and individuals committed to the reduction and elimination of injuries in our community. We work in partnership to bring to the community the existing groups that have education and awareness programs aimed to the promotion of safety and wellness in our community.

Our Values

• Recognize that Richmond contains unique and distinctive communities, defined by geography, culture, language and history.
• Respect the culture, language and values of each community and recognize that these distinctions make our city vibrant, diverse and inclusive.
• Value the commitment and work carried out by existing organizations and groups who presently address the issues of workplace and community safety.
• Draw on community strength to make Richmond a safe place to live, work and play.

Our Goals

• Increase community and personal safety, with the long term plan to eliminate predictable and preventable injuries in the community and workplace, by working together to increase the awareness of safety and injury prevention in the community.
• Provide a forum for people to get together, creating a supportive environment amongst governments, community and business leaders committed to community health and safety.
• Enhance existing programs and resources through networks and partnerships at the grass roots level to achieve sustainable results.
• Involve the whole community in a meaningful way, particularly Richmond's unique cultures.

How We Were Formed

The City of Richmond formed the Community Safety Division in June 2002 with a mandate to provide a more integrated and community-based approach to the delivery of public safety services.

The Community Safety Division adopted a goal of:

"A community where everyone takes responsibility for the safety of people and property".

An important component of the Community Safety Division 2001-2003 Plan was public safety input from Richmond residents and businesses. The City commissioned Ipsos-Reid to conduct focus groups with residents and business representatives to explore safety issues in our community. The four main community safety categories identified were: crime and violence, natural disasters, fire and traffic.

The Community Safety Advisory Task Force was formed in October 2001 to provide input from the community on safety issues, and work in conjunction with the Community Safety Division to determine various safety initiatives.

The Task Force gave a series of presentations to community groups to gather input on identifying community safety priorities.

The City of Richmond developed seven core strategies for its 2003-2005 Corporate Plan. One of these strategies was Community Safety, which requires the City to ensure that public safety services and resources are effectively targeted to community needs and priorities. From this strategy, several staff groups were formed, one of which related to Partnership and Sponsorship.

This group discussed Paul Kells' founding of Safe Communities Canada in his attempt to reduce and eliminate injuries in communities across Canada. Learning about this Foundation created interest in the development of Safe Communities Richmond, and this became the group's principal project.

Starting in December 2003, City staff held a series of information meetings involving various community groups interested in the Safe Communities concept. These community groups formed the Safe Communities Richmond Advisory Group.