Who We Are
The Canadian Centre for Safer Communities (CCFSC), formerly known as the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention, brings together urban, rural, and Indigenous communities across Canada to foster community safety and well-being (CSWB) through training, research, and knowledge exchange. We are a membership-based not-for-profit organization representing over 100 communities and approximately 50% of the national population.
The work of CCFSC is guided by a broad concept of community safety and well-being that includes thorough local assessments and planning processes, a variety of preventative measures, multi-sectoral dialogues, and public engagement. These efforts expand beyond criminal legal responses and reduce reliance on enforcement. Our work is rooted in the understanding that communities are best positioned to work with local agencies and partners to identify specific service needs and address the root causes of violence, victimization, and sense of safety.
The CCFSC serves as a community of practice for municipal representatives, elected officials, community safety coordinators, frontline practitioners, and other professionals involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of community-based strategies to improve safety and well-being at the local level. Together, we:
- Maintain dialogues on common challenges, trends, evidence, good practices, and innovative initiatives.
- Coordinate collaboration, knowledge exchange, evidence sharing, and training.
- Support policy and program development.
- Increase knowledge and skills of communities for planning, coordinating, and implementing safety and well-being initiatives.
- Foster leadership and engagement among all orders of government to promote community safety and well-being.
The CCFSC offers a broad range of services for its members, including community of practice meetings, evidence reviews, toolkits and guides, networking and mentoring opportunities, and other knowledge mobilization initiatives. Additionally, we work directly with communities and other orders of government on strategic planning and research projects, including community safety and well-being planning, monitoring and evaluation of community safety initiatives, gun and gang violence prevention, crime prevention in rural areas, and more.
Our Vision
Communities where people are safe and feel safe.
Our Mission
To inspire local action and foster community safety and well-being through national leadership, collaboration, capacity building, and knowledge exchange.
Our History
1989
Two major conferences (Montréal in 1989 and Paris in 1991) sparked a commitment to make communities safer by going beyond police, courts, and prisons to invest in crime prevention.
2003
In 2003, 120 practitioners, elected officials, policy makers, and researchers created the Agenda for a Safer Canada during a National Symposium in Waterloo Region, Ontario.
2006
In 2006, the National Crime Prevention Centre funded the University of Ottawa to convene 14 Canadian municipalities to become part of what is now the Canadian Centre for Safer Communities (formerly known as the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention or CMNCP). From 2006 to 2009, CMNCP benefited from federal funding and a partnership with the University of Ottawa to become a community of practice and produce Canadian strategies and practices on what is needed for municipal crime prevention to be sustained as well as action briefs for municipal stakeholders.
2009
From 2009 to 2015, the strong commitment of the member municipalities and of the Institute for the Prevention of Crime at the University of Ottawa continued to build on the work done in developing knowledge and in sharing experiences and expertise to make Canadian cities and communities safer.
2015
In 2015, the community of practice adopted its new name and vision and became the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention. The commitment of members led to federal funding from Public Safety Canada for a project on Building Municipal Capacity to Harness Evidence to Prevent Crime. This project was conducted in partnership with crime prevention researchers at the University of Ottawa and aimed to harness evidence to prevent crime and to engage municipalities in comprehensive community safety strategies.
2018
The Building Municipal Capacity to Harness Evidence to Prevent Crime project ended in September 2018. The project allowed CMNCP to grow its membership, to host municipal exchanges, trainings, and workshops that helped members access evidence and develop their skills, and to sensitize a number of key stakeholders to the evidence on crime prevention.
2019
After multiple projects and a continuously growing membership, CMNCP became a Canadian hub and reference point for addressing community safety and well-being (CSWB) at the municipal level. In 2019, CMNCP incorporated and became a not-for-profit organization guided by a board of directors and a small team of staff. In addition to its services for members, CMNCP partnered with several municipalities to directly support the development of community safety and well-being plans and delivered training sessions on the CSWB planning process.
2022
During the 2022 strategic planning session, board members and staff had a discussion around the strategic direction and future of the organization. It was decided that adjustments should be made to better reflect the communities we partner with and the work we do. The shifts included removing ‘crime prevention’ from the name of the organization and replacing ‘cities’ with ‘communities’ to be more inclusive of urban, rural, and Indigenous communities. In 2022, CMNCP continued to work with several communities on CSWB planning processes, published several resources for practitioners, trained over 100 practitioners in CSWB planning, facilitated a speaker series on emerging challenges related to community safety, and hosted a virtual conference focusing on social challenges at the local level.
2023
In 2023, the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention officially launched its new identity, becoming the Canadian Centre for Safer Communities (CCFSC). The new vision, mission, logo, and name were announced at the 2023 annual conference in Regina, Saskatchewan. In 2023, in addition to its ongoing CSWB planning projects, CCFSC continued to facilitate various knowledge exchange activities, wrapped up a two-year research project funded by Public Safety Canada, and received funding from the Government of Manitoba to support the development of CSWB plans in 11 communities across the province. Five new team members were hired in 2023 to support the work of CCFSC.