Brampton Receives Top Marks in National Report Card on Safety

Brampton, Ontario was awarded a perfect score in the first-ever National Report Card on Safety released today by Safe Communities Canada. This national charitable organization, dedicated to helping Canadian municipalities prevent avoidable injuries, issued report cards on 36 Canadian cities as part of its celebration of the first Safe Communities Canada Day (Oct 3).

Community Report Card scores were determined for each city by an evaluation of four key areas: leadership, priority setting, sustainability and community engagement. Brampton achieved an impressive score of 20 out of 20 points, with the national average being 17 out of 20 points. Our city’s strengths were identified as: excellent leadership by Brampton’s government and community agencies, broad representation from all sectors of the community (in the Brampton Safe City Partnership), a high level of resources committed to safety and our growing mentorship role in helping other cities across Canada become safer places.

“We are very pleased to receive such a high score from Safe Communities Canada”, says Jim Bird, President of Brampton Safe City Association. “For the record, the National Report Card is not about being crime-free or injury-free. In a city the size of Brampton, it is inevitable we will experience injuries and even fatalities from automobile collisions, workplace accidents or acts of violence. What the Brampton Safe City Partnership is working to do is keep these incidents to a minimum by educating citizens about safety and getting them involved in

safety activities. We are very fortunate to have excellent community partners who understand how much more we can accomplish working together as a team. That’s the biggest reason we’re noted as being one of Canada’s high-performing safe communities.”

Since its inception a decade ago, Safe Communities Canada has been designating Canadian municipalities as ‘National Safe Communities’ based on their capacity to prevent avoidable injuries from accidents or violence. Brampton was designated as a National Safe Community in 2003. The Brampton Safe City Partnership, a network of more than 35 groups, collectively delivers programs in children’s safety, fire safety, youth violence prevention, workplace safety, road safety, emergency preparedness and safety for seniors. Currently, there are more than 150 active programs in Brampton to help people of all ages stay safe.

In September of this year, Brampton was also designated as an International Safe Community by the World Health Organization in recognition of our capacity to deliver safety education and programs, and our proven ability to work together as a community to address injury and crime concerns. Brampton is only one of 10 cities in North America to achieve this prestigious designation.

Additional Information

Safe Communities Canada

World Health Organization