The minds behind the strategy that won Surrey a public safety award are finding themselves in demand.
On Monday, a group representing the Lower Mainland city was in Prince George to share insight on their crime reduction strategy with the Mayor's Task Force on Crime.
While accustomed to making presentations to local stakeholders, strategy manager Colleen Kerr said it was a privilege to be asked to come to Prince George and that the Surrey model is gaining traction after picking up the 2011 Solicitor General Crime Prevention and Community Safety Award.
"We're now being sought out," she said, noting appointments in Halifax and Red Deer.
The presentation for the Prince George committee - which includes representatives from the RCMP, Northern Health, School District 57, UNBC, BC Housing among others - was an opportunity to see the success Surrey has had, said Mayor Shari Green.
"They're really moving from crime reduction to community safety, which I think is a really interesting way of describing what they're trying to do," she said. "It's an overall approach to look at things and say how does this impact our community's safety?"
A major component to Surrey's success was their ability to bring otherwise competing or disparate community partners together, Kerr told the group.
"We hear that these agencies don't play nice with each other in the sandbox," she said, but noted that unwillingness turns into co-operation when the city leads the charge.
"I've seen first hand what working with other agencies can do," said Thor Forseth, a Surrey RCMP constable who will soon be joining the Prince George community police detachment as a corporal.
Forseth shared a 2011 community policing initiative award with his partner in Surrey for their work to clean up the Surrey Central SkyTrain station and surrounding area.
According to Prince George Supt. Eric Stubbs, Forseth's experience in Surrey was a key draw to bringing him to the city.
Collaboration with partners such as social services, municipal departments and businesses are necessary for an integrated and holistic approach, Forseth said.
"You take care of the little things and lift up community standards," he added, noting it was also important for police to be seen as participating in the community and not just the people that went after criminals. "I have no problem wearing my uniform and picking up garbage."
The visit from the Surrey delegation marked the third meeting of the task force and fulfilled one of the objectives outlined in the committee's terms of reference.
"We don't want to reinvent the wheel," Green said. "Although Prince George has struggled with some crime statistics in terms of national surveys we have actually had some pretty good improvement and some good results over the years and we've seen that specifically in the downtown core with a dramatic reduction in crime. So how can we take those lessons that we've learned and think bigger throughout the whole city and make sure we continue to provide a community people feel safe in and are proud to call home."
