Volume Ii: Supplemental Reports
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THE 2O14 HRM ROUNDTABLE REVIEW VOLUME II: SUPPLEMENTAL REPORTS CONTENTS VIOLENCE AND PUBLIC SAFETY IN THE HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY: ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO THE ROUNDTABLE REPORT Page 3 By Kit Waters DOWNTOWN CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY: THEN AND NOW Page 50 By Christopher Murphy GENDERED VIOLENCE IN THE HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY Page 66 By Verona Singer HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING & THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH VIOLENCE AND PUBLIC SAFETY IN HRM: ACCOMPLISHMENTS, OPPORTUNITIES AND HRM’S FUTURE ROLE Page 98 By Don Spicer THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY Page 117 By Stephen Kimber OFFENDER REINTEGRATION IN THE HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY Page 127 By Adrienne MacDonald, John Peach, and Robert MacDonald ADDRESSING YOUTH CRIME AND VIOLENCE IN THE HRM: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Page 160 By Stephen Schnieder 2 THE 2O14 HRM ROUNDTABLE REVIEW VIOLENCE AND PUBLIC SAFETY IN THE HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY: ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO THE ROUNDTABLE REPORT Kit Waters 3 Introduction The 2008 report Violence and Public Safety in the Halifax Regional Municipality (Roundtable Report) provided a broad range of recommendations for guiding the municipality's response to problems of violence and public safety. The report stated that a successful response to the recommendations would require organizational and structural changes to build capacity and coordinate a multi-dimensional, collaborative approach to community safety challenges. This report examines progress that has been made to date in responding to these recommendations and offers some observations regarding possible future directions. Methodology Jurisdictional review A number of municipalities have developed special structures/mechanisms as focal points for the development of a coordinated approach to community safety. For the purposes of this report, a survey of selected larger municipalities in Canada was undertaken to determine the nature of these structures and mechanisms. A questionnaire 1 was circulated to a number of members of the national Municipal Network on Crime Prevention 2 followed up by a telephone interview. Interviews with key stakeholders In order to determine the nature and impact of organizational changes in HRM resulting from implementation of Roundtable Report recommendations, interviews were conducted with senior officials at the provincial and municipal levels. Regional Councillors and Police Board members were also consulted for their views. Interviews were conducted with the individuals directly responsible for the operation of the new organizational structures resulting from the Roundtable Report recommendations. In addition, a number of individuals with expertise in various aspects of community safety were consulted. Review of documentation . 1 a copy of the questionnaire is provided in Appendix A 2 The national Municipal Network on Crime Prevention was established in 2006 through the efforts of the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (University of Ottawa). It is composed of representatives from 14 municipalities: Vancouver, Surrey, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Regina, Waterloo Region, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John and Halifax. Members share knowledge and experience with the goal of strengthening the capacity of Canadian municipalities to reduce crime and enhance community safety. 4 A number of reports detailing the Municipality's response to the Roundtable Report recommendations were reviewed including: Partnering for Public Safety , February 2009 (a report to Mayor and Regional Council submitted by the Chief of Police and Chief Administrative Officer, HRM outlining an action plan in response to the Roundtable recommendations); Status Report to the HRM Board of Police Commissioners , December 2009; Public Safety Strategic Plan , 2011; Spotlight on Public Safety , a monthly report on activities prepared by the Public Safety Officer; minutes of the meetings of the Board of Police Commissioners from 2008-June 2013. Organization of the report Two key organizational changes within HRM were recommended in the Roundtable Report: establishment of a Public Safety Office and creation of a Race Relations Advisory Group. These functions will be addressed separately in this report: Part 1 - the Public Safety Office and Part 2 - HRM response to the recommendations relating to race relations. The report presents an overview of progress that has been made in responding to the structural/organizational recommendations of the Roundtable Report, impact of the actions that have been taken, observations regarding remaining challenges and some recommendations for future action. The report also presents findings from a review of structures/mechanisms developed in selected Canadian cities to respond to public safety issues. 5 PART 1: The Public Safety Office (PSO): Recommendations of the Roundtable Report: The Roundtable report documented the 'widespread view' that "the municipality lacks vision and capacity at present with respect to dealing directly with outstanding public safety issues or effectively lobbying senior levels of government for needed change in HRM." 3 "To stake out a greater public role, to provide leadership on matters of public safety, and to be the expertise centre for local problem identification and response, there will have to be more organizational specialization at City Hall, backed by strong leadership from the Mayor." 4 The Roundtable recommended the appointment of a "full-time Public Safety Coordinator and advisory committee, both linked to the Mayor's Office to enhance visibility and quick response and implementation" 5. The following specific recommendations were made regarding the role of the municipality in public safety: 1. There is widespread consensus that the municipality as a government must play a greater role in dealing with violence and public safety. That role involves three dimensions: vision and leadership; capacity-building in the municipal administration; and resources. 2. It is recommended that a priority response to the Roundtable initiative should be the municipality's engagement of a full-time Public Safety Coordinator linked to the Mayor's Office and with a standing Public Safety Advisory Committee appointed by the Mayor and possibly made up of several councillors, representatives from law enforcement agencies, business activists in the public safety field, and representatives from the United Way, minority groups and other pertinent HRM voluntary organizations. It is important that the municipal government indicates its commitment to fighting violence and crime by developing a 'business unit for public safety'. 3. The central activities/responsibilities for the Public Safety Coordinator and the accompanying advisory committee should be: development of a strategic action plan; promoting the establishment of a Tripartite Forum on Justice that would bring together municipal, provincial and federal representatives for a three-year period to consider violence and public safety issues and strategies to deal with them. 4. Recognizing the significant developments in conceptualizing and advancing the place of Canada's larger municipalities in public safety activity, HRM (through the proposed office of the Public Safety Coordinator) should become an active participant in cross- jurisdictional bodies such as the National Municipal Network on Crime Prevention 3 Clairmont, D., Atlantic Institute of Criminology and Halifax Regional Municipality (N.S.) (2008) Violence and Public Safety in the Halifax Regional Municipality. A Report to the Mayor as a Result of the Roundtable . Halifax, N.S.: Halifax Regional Municipality. p. 68 4 ibid. p.69 5ibid. p.70 6 sponsored by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Institute for the Prevention of Crime (University of Ottawa). 6 Establishment of the Public Safety Office: Responsibility for responding to the Roundtable Report was assigned to the Chief of the Halifax Regional Police. Former Chief Frank Beazley convened a working group "to conduct a comprehensive review of the Clairmont [Roundtable] Report and other initiatives impacting policing and public safety. In February 2009 Partnering for Public Safety: Response to the Report to the Mayor as a Result of the Roundtable was tabled with Halifax Regional Council. The report identified a champion, stakeholder commitment, strategies, timelines and resources for each of the recommendations included in the Clairmont Report." 7 Council approved the recommendations and action plan. In February 2009, a Public Safety Office (PSO) was established within the Halifax Regional Police Service (HRPS). It was to be comprised of a Public Safety Officer and the following divisions/sections which already existed within HRPS: i.e. Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team, Integrated Traffic Unit, the Community Response Team and other services administered through the Community Relations and Crime Prevention Services (Victim Services, Volunteer Services, School Liaison Program). The HRM Board of Police Commissioners was designated as the Public Safety Committee to provide civilian oversight to the PSO. In March 2009, Superintendent Don Spicer of the Halifax Regional Police was appointed to the position of Public Safety Officer. In November 2012, Inspector Spicer resigned from the position of Public Safety Officer and was replaced by Sergeant Scott MacDonald 8 of the HRPS. In November 2012, the operational Divisions reporting to the PSO were removed from this Office; the