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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCS 06-20f 1 4 DICKERING Report to Executive Committee Report Number: CS 06-20 Date: July 13, 2020 From: Brian Duffield (Acting) Director, Community Services Subject: Community Safety and Well -Being Plan - Update - File: A-1440 Recommendation: 1. That Council receive report CS 06-20 for information regarding the City of Pickering's Community Safety and Well -Being Plan; 2. That the appropriate officials of the City of Pickering be authorized to take necessary actions as indicated in this report. Executive Summary: Community Services staff were directed to initiate contact with the Town of Ajax and begin work on development of a Community Safety and Well -Being (CSWB) Plan. As per the Safer Ontario Act, 2018, S.O. 2018, c. 3 — Bill 175 , CSWB Plans came into enactment in the current Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.p15. At that time, all municipalities (except lower tier) were to create and by resolution adopt a CSWB Plan by January 1, 2021. At this time, due to COVID-19, the Police Services Act as amended to allow the Solicitor General to give municipalities an extension beyond January 1, 2021 to prepare and adopt a Community Safety and Well -Being Plan. The Town of Ajax has been working on this plan for the past 3 years, and have actively been involved in creating and leading the Partnership Based Community Safety Strategy for the past 11 years. At this time partners continue to meet quarterly to discuss crime prevention efforts, areas of immediate or imminent concern, and local solutions and collaborative opportunities. In 2019, City staff conducted initial interviews with members of Council and City staff in which common themes were identified including homelessness, mental health issues, addiction and anti- social behavior, emotional violence, various levels of mischief and crime, drugs and increased trafficking, high traffic and careless driving, and social issues, including neighbor disputes and bullying. Although this information provides a good foundation, more work is needed by dedicated staff to enable the City to complete and implement its Community Safety Well -Being Plan. The COVID health crisis has forced the Province to give notice of their intention to extend the date for the adoption of the CSWB Plan beyond January 1, 2021 but have yet to announce a new date. The City has also been advised by Durham Region that their working group activities have been put on hold for now until more information is provided and their staff return to the workplace. CS 06-20 July 13, 2020 Subject: Community Safety and Well -Being Plan Page 2 Financial Implications: The development and implementation of the City's Community Safety and Well -Being Plan will require dedicated staff resources currently not in place. Therefore, funding for this position will be considered in the development of the 2021 Budget in the context of an introduction of a new service/program for the well-being of our residents. Discussion: In an effort to complete a Community Safety and Well -Being Plan, City staff have begun to work with DRPS and the Town of Ajax to create and implement a Pickering consultation program. The Provincial Planning Approach to this initiative includes identifying priority risks, determining outcomes, selecting strategies, implementation, and review of the CSWB Plan and the City's efforts will move forward within this framework. In 2019, City of Pickering staff have met with Town of Ajax staff, attended the Partners in Community Safety Meeting, and completed interviews with members of council, Senior City Staff, Customer Care and By-law. As an introductory community engagement exercise, seniors throughout the community were provided with questions at our annual Information and Active Living Fair, at which time over 150 seniors provided feedback. Each interview included questions associated with Risk Intervention, Prevention and Social Development. As this is a joint partnership with the Town of Ajax and DRPS, all action items referring to Incident Response will be the responsibility of DRPS. Our action plan will include Risk Intervention, Prevention, and Social Development. The purpose of the interview process is to highlight action items from across the City, create a strategy, identify resources, execute, and deliver. In order to meet a yet to be announced extended deadline some time in 2021, a number of steps are required to be completed including the addition of a dedicated staff person to conduct further research and consultation, complete the analysis on the preliminary research, introduce new partners to the existing team, including, but not limited to Pickering By-law Services, Pickering Fire Services, Pickering Public Library, Great Canadian Gaming, and Pickering Town Centre. Furthermore, this position will be a member of the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention, and be familiar with legislative requirements, identifying local priorities, implications and practice, identifying outcomes, strategies and programs, training, including safety assessments, community consultations, building safer and healthy communities, and developing and implementing a Community Safety and Well -Being Plan. Additionally, the City of Pickering requires a system for reporting issues, and providing immediate feedback, (similar to Ajax — In My Opinion), to engage the community and develop ongoing partnerships with DRPS, and other municipal partners working on development of a CSWB Plan. Unfortunately, due to the volume of work required to prepare a comprehensive plan for adoption in 2021, the City of Pickering does not have existing staff resources to take this on. To date, within the position of Manager, Recreation Services, over 30 hours has been spent on meetings and interviews. An additional 15 hours has been dedicated to reviewing interviews and preparing back up notes. The Manager, Recreation Services also attended a Regional Roundtable discussion on November 15, 2019, and attended training on Community Safety Plans and the development on December 10, 2019. The current COVID health crisis has suspended much of the work that was to be planned for the summer of 2020. CS 06-20 July 13, 2020 Subject: Community Safety and Well -Being Plan Page 3 The City of Pickering is committed to the ongoing development and support of Community Safety and Well -Being. A resolution from Council enabled Pickering to advance a partnership with Ajax and Durham Region Police Services. The Ajax strategy was highly successful, and its goals, objectives, and outcomes, have been sustained, due to the strategy of a multi -sectoral, cross - departmental, and partnership based model. Partners continue to meet quarterly, and the group continues to grow. Pickering and Ajax will participate in a Regional plan, as well, Pickering and Ajax are moving forward with a specific plan to follow the Provincial framework. Our plan is being developed in partnership with the Durham Region Police Services (West Division) and will incorporate elements from their corporate planning initiative. Attachments: None Prepared By: Sharon Milton Manager, Recreation Services SM:sm Approved/Endorsed By: Brian Duffield (Acting) Director, Community Services Recommended for the consideration of Pickering City Council Marisa Carpino Interim Chief Administrative Officer