Armidale Regional Council is encouraging residents to share their views on community safety by participating in a survey that will inform the development of a Crime Prevention Plan for the region.
The Council has engaged researchers from the University of New England’s Centre for Rural Criminology to study community attitudes and perceptions of safety across the Armidale Regional Local Government Area and develop a draft plan.
Mayor, Sam Coupland said community input will play a critical role in shaping future crime prevention initiatives and priorities.
“Understanding how people feel about safety in their neighbourhoods is an important part of creating communities where people feel secure, connected and supported,” said Mayor Coupland.
“We are encouraging all residents to take part in the survey so we can build a clear picture of local concerns and experiences. The more feedback we receive, the better-informed Council and our partners will be when developing crime prevention strategies for our region.”
The research is being led by Dr Kyle Mulrooney, Dr Alistair Harkness and Dr Tarah Hodgkinson from the University of New England. They aim to collect information about community attitudes and sentiments relating to crime, safety and crime prevention in Armidale. The findings will be used to develop recommendations and a draft Crime Prevention Plan for consideration by Council.
“People are the experts in their own neighbourhoods,” said Dr Mulrooney.
“Feedback from the community will help us better understand perceptions of safety across Armidale region and identify ways to strengthen community wellbeing and crime prevention.”
Participation in the survey is voluntary and confidential. Responses will be used for research purposes only, and no personally identifying information will be included in any reports.
“I encourage residents to complete the survey and contribute to the future planning of community safety initiatives across the region,” said Mayor Coupland.
For more information about the project, and to complete the survey here: https://yoursay.armidale.nsw.gov.au/armidale-regional-council-crime-prevention-plan.
