SA Pandemic Influenza Operational Plan
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Community Safety
Safety from emergencies is highly valued by individuals and essential to the fabric of society. There are many factors that contribute to our personal safety. Community Safety is one approach gaining ground as a way of improving our personal safety and reducing risk impact. Starting as it does at the local level, community safety has important consequences for overall disaster resilience.
What is Community Safety?
Community Safety has been defined as:
- Collaborative community, government and non-government efforts toward
- a model of safety, societal well being and stability, resulting in
- sustainability, social cohesion, security, cooperation, self reliance and an improved physical environment, within which
- communities are locally organised and resourced, well-informed about risks, proactive in prevention, risk averse, motivated and able to manage the majority of local issues through effective planning and action.
Community Safety Concepts
Key concepts of community safety include
- Community collaboration
- Local ownership, local issues, local involvement
- Government and non government support and involvement
- Management of emergency risk by many means
- Resilience, self reliance and stability
- Improved knowledge, prevention and proactivity
- Planning and action
- Ownership not paternalism.
Community safety is more than just prevention, it involves all tiers of government, non-government and individuals, and aims to reduce overall hazard impact. Importantly it stresses personal involvement, community engagement, and self-determination. In this approach, safety is seen as a value to which we all contribute and not an externally provided service.
Learn MoreEmergency Management Australia www.ema.gov.au |
