 Safe Waitakere
Safe Waitakere is a city/community safety team that works
within the Community Wellbeing Directorate of the Waitakere City Council.
What's New?
Memorandum of Understanding between New Zealand Police
and Waitakere City Council
On 25 February 2009 a revised Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) was formally agreed between New Zealand Police and
Waitakere City Council. The signing of this MOU demonstrates
the close relationship that continues to develop between our
two organisations.
Read the media release.
Spirit of Youth 2008
On 28 November the Safe Waitakere team were at Moire
Park supporting Spirit of Youth 2008. Eleven schools
from around the Massey area attended the
action-packed day of team activities including, a
tug-of-war and the challenging top town course.
The theme for the event was 'M8s keeping M8s safe'.
Participants shared their thoughts about the message
in a team chant and banner making competition. The
banners were also featured later in the evening at
Pacific in the Park where the community were asked
to vote for their favourite banner. Congratulations
to Pomaria School who received the most votes.
17th
International Safe Communities Conference
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| 17th International Safe Communities Conference |
During October 2008
several members of the Safe Waitakere team were
privileged to attend the 17th International Safe
Communities Conference which took place in
Christchurch.
It was a unique experience to be able to network with so many members of
the International Safe Community network, over 500
delegates from 38 countries attended.
Members of the Safe Waitakere Team were invited to
present to the conference and were able to showcase
"Safe Waitakere" together with some of our key
projects.
Further information on the conference is available
via the following links:
www.safecom2008.org.nz or
www.safecommunities.org.nz
White Ribbon March- 25 November at
10.15 am
The goal of the march is to draw attention
to family violence and encourage people to help its
victims. Last year over a thousand people
participated in the march, this year we are hoping
for more.
What is Safe Waitakere?
The primary functions of Safe Waitakere are centred around
the principles of partnership and collaboration with key
community and government agencies. Together, the team
identify shared strategies and goals for addressing various
community health and crime prevention issues. The Safe
Waitakere team focuses on harm minimisation and preventative
outcomes.
The Safe Waitakere Team is positioned within the Community Wellbeing
Directorate of
the Council alongside other Social,
Cultural and Wellbeing functions and the councils broader strategic functions.
Safe Waitakere operates in a collaborative way and a core
function of the team is to establish and maintain key
partnerships with community, agencies and others. As a
result most of the portfolios within the team also have
either an advisory group or governance group which consists
of various community partners.
What are the key community issues Safe Waitakere tackles?
Within Safe Waitakere there are five focus areas or
portfolios. To find out more on a particular portfolio,
follow the links to find out more on the work of each:
Background
In 1999 Waitakere
applied to become New Zealand's first World Health
Organisation (WHO) accredited Safe Community. Safe Waitakere
organised the first Community Safety conference in New
Zealand, bringing together many agencies and communities
from all over the country. The conference was held at the
Kura Kaupapa at Hoani Waititi Marae, symbolic of the close
partnerships established over the foundation years. One
outcome of the conference was the subsequent establishment
of the Injury Prevention Network Aotearoa New Zealand.
The culmination of the conference was the ceremony at which
Waitakere was presented with its accreditation by Leif
Svanstrom of the Karolinska Institute, representing the
World Health Organisation.
In September 2006 Safe Waitakere started on the journey of
seeking re-accreditation as a WHO Safe Community.
In December 2006 Waitakere was successful in its application
for WHO Safe Community re-accreditation. A re-accreditation
ceremony took place at the Council and all
stakeholders involved in the consultation process were
invited to attend. Attendees at the ceremony also included
representatives from the project steering group, working
group and members from the various advisory/governance
groups.
Safe Waitakere's international
standing
Mark Maxlow, Safe Waitakere Team Leader, says the work of
this team has been internationally recognised, and this sits
well with Waitakere's globally recognised status as an Eco
City and a City of Peace.
"Waitakere was re-accredited as a World Health Organisation
(WHO) International Safe Community in 2006. Waitakere was the
first community in New Zealand to receive the award back in
1999 and it was great to reflect on our history in the
"safety" arena and share the experience with everyone that
was able to attend the re-accreditation ceremony. This is a
major coup for Waitakere on the international stage," Mark Maxlow says.
 How is Safe Waitakere funded?
A significant amount of funding that supports the 10-person
Safe Waitakere team, and its associated activity, is sourced
through long-term contracts secured between the Waitakere City
Council, the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of
Justice (MoJ):
Although the Safe Waitakere Team is sited currently within
the Community Wellbeing Directorate, the scope and scale of the team's work
necessitates strong relationships across the council.
Also the team works across the Waitakere community,
utilising a focused evidence-based approach.
Safe Waitakere's Mission
As part of its mission, the council has adopted five strategic
priorities. These are regarded as overarching, so everything
the council does must take them into account.
These
priorities include:
- The Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti O Waitangi)
- Sustainable Development
- First Call for Children
- Safe City
- Lifelong Learning
While all have an impact on community safety and the work
of the Safe
Waitakere Team, the First Call for Children and Safe City
priorities have and continue to play major roles.
Safe Waitakere contributes to the council's 10-year plan.
The Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP).
Under the provisions of the Local Government Act 2002 all
local authorities are required to undertake a consultation
and planning process culminating in the production of a Long
Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP).
This identifies the
community outcomes of the city, and provides a long term (10
year) focus for the local authority's decisions and
activities.
In Waitakere, the current 2006 -2016 LTCCP is built on eco city principles. The council's core and discretionary
services and activities have been grouped into nine
strategic platforms:
- Urban and Rural Villages
- Integrated Transport and Communication
- Strong Innovative Economy
- Active Democracy
- Strong Communities
- Green Network
- Three Waters
- Sustainable Energy and Clean Air
- Zero Waste
Strong communities and community safety
The one platform most directly concerned with community
safety is Strong Communities.
This means that community safety is woven into the long
term goals of the city and should be considered at times
when key decisions are being made. The activity of the Safe
Waitakere team - at both a strategic and operational level -
is directly related to the Safe City strategic priority.
The
vision for this strategic priority is:
Waitakere - a safe place to be.
In summary this priority requires that in addition to formal
occupational health and safety considerations, the general
safety of the community is integral to all of the council's
activities and planning, and that the council advocates for
and supports safety initiatives with its planning partners.
A core purpose of the Safe Waitakere team is to:
- Provide a working unit within the council focusing on the Safe
City priority.
- To perform the role of catalyst and connector for
community, agencies, partnerships and Central Government in
all City Safety issues.
- Develop programmes and initiatives that provide positive
city safety outcomes.
Contact information
 For
more information email
safe.waitakere@waitakere.govt.nz.
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