What is possible beyond making the call?
Rethinking neighbourhood safety and well-being
In 2023, Arts on the Ave launched the Make the Call campaign. This campaign encourages people to call police, Crime Stoppers, or Bylaw to try to build community safety and well-being.
The intention is good. We all need healthy neighbourhoods. Community safety and well-being are very important. But law enforcement isn’t the right response to many neighbourhood issues.
It starts with how we define what is a problem in our community. There’s a big difference between a hate crime and someone living outside or youth doing street art. Many neighbourhood clean-up campaigns promote fear of people who use drugs, people who don’t have anywhere indoors to store their belongings, and people who can’t afford to fix up their homes. The “report-a-john” part of Make the Call mixes up the real problem of sexual harassment with the non-problem of someone paying for sex.
Law enforcement doesn’t solve poverty or other health and social issues. It can’t prevent violence or other real problems. Police and bylaw officers can’t be everywhere all the time, and can only respond after something has already happened.
Calling officers can result in harm. We live in a society with a lot of stereotypes and assumptions. It’s hurtful to have neighbours treat you as suspicious or dangerous because of the colour of your skin or for being visibly poor. It’s scary to have the police called on you, especially for people who have had past traumatic experiences.
What else can we do to build healthy and safe communities, instead of calling law enforcement? If we are creative and think outside the box, what could we do that would make our neighbourhoods safer for everyone?
From my past experiences of being harassed and assaulted, I am safest when I know my neighbours and know that if I’m in trouble there are people nearby who care about me and will want to help. I am safest when my neighbourhood has a culture of respect and inclusion, rather than fear and suspicion. When we need help, we reach out to people we trust. How can we build that trust in our neighbourhoods so we can reach out to each other? How do we collectively build our skills for creative prevention and response?
Neighbourhood safety is about so much more than laws, policing, and punishment. Over the next year I’ll be sharing stories of what ordinary people are doing in the Alberta Ave neighbourhood to look after each other and build safe, respectful, and inclusive communities. I’ll also be sharing examples from other cities. Stay tuned!
Joshua Mira Goldberg moved to the Alberta Ave neighbourhood in August 2023, after gentrification destroyed the diversity and vibrancy of his previous home. He is grateful for friendly neighbours, magpies, and green onion cakes.
Contact: joshua@ratcreek.org
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