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Community crime prevention publications, resources and links

Last updated on November 18, 2021

Community Crime Prevention

Safe Communities Kit

The Safe Communities Kit was developed to help British Columbians prevent crime and increase safety. Six publications make up the kit:

Community Crime Prevention Guide

The Community Crime Prevention Guide provides practical information and resources about developing crime prevention action plans. Topics include:

  • Developing the plan
  • Mobilizing the community
  • Engaging youth
  • Implementing a plan
  • Evaluations

Crime Prevention in Aboriginal Communities

Wise Practices in Crime Prevention Programs: Implemented for and by Aboriginal Communities in BC is a toolkit for Aboriginal communities that wish to begin a crime prevention initiative. Wise practices from the literature and wisdom from the three communities are highlighted throughout this toolkit to provide guidance and suggestions.

Building and Sharing Culturally Responsive Crime Prevention Programs in B.C.'s Aboriginal Communities summarizes the positive impacts of utilizing Aboriginal cultural ways and tools as part of a crime prevention action plan to reduce crime in Aboriginal and off-reserve communities.

Preventing Youth Involvement in Gangs

The Youth Gang Prevention Toolkit for Community Planning and the Youth Gang Prevention: Quick Start Guide for Community Action assist service providers, community leaders, and others working to prevent youth from becoming involved in gangs or helping them leave gangs.

The Toolkit for Preventing Youth Involvement in Gangs video features anti-gang advocates discussing the importance of communities developing strategies to prevent young people from joining gangs.

The toolkit was developed with Alberta’s Ministry of Justice, the Government of Canada, and the eight communities involved in creating the provincial youth gang prevention strategy.

Preventing Youth Involvement in Gangs assists service providers, parents, teachers and others who are working to prevent youth from becoming involved in gangs or to help them leave gangs. (2011)

Strength-based Approaches to Youth Gang Prevention in B.C. discusses strength-based strategies for reducing youth involvement in gang violence. It includes a review of research on strengths that matter, discussion of cultural relevance and differentiation of types of strength-based interventions. (2010)

Gang Prevention for New Immigrant and Refugee Youth in B.C. explores why and how immigrant and refugee youth aged 13-23 and in Canada less than 5 years may or may not become involved with youth gangs. (2010)

Gangs, Girls and Sexual Exploitation in B.C. explores why and how girls become involved in gangs in B.C, what their roles are, and the potential links to sexual exploitation. (2010)

The Promising Practices for Addressing Youth Involvement in Gangs (Totten Report) provides an overview of the prevalence of gangs in B.C. and Canada, and gives clear guidelines on evidence-based gang prevention and intervention strategies and practices. (2008)

Sexual Exploitation

Youth Against Violence Poster - Page

Community Action Teams (PDF) (CATs) are service providers and community partners who work together to develop local strategies that address prostitution and sexual exploitation. CATs work to end the exploitation of children and youth through prostitution while also reducing harm by improving the lives of adult prostitutes.

Taking Action Handouts and Sexual Exploitation Toolkit

Taking Action is a series of handouts for communities working to address the sexual exploitation of children and youth. Communities can use them to learn how to set-up a community action network, create an action plan, apply or funding, build awareness and more.

Taking Action is part of the Sexual Exploitation Toolkit, which is an online resource connecting communities to programs and agencies that work to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth.

The Justice Institute of B.C. developed the handouts with funding from British Columbia's Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General and Public Safety Canada.

Stopping the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth

Stopping the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth is part of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General’s Crime Prevention Information Series. It helps service providers, parents, guardians, teachers and others protect children and youth from sexual exploitation or leave exploitative situations

Restorative Justice

British Columbia is committed to a restorative justice approach that considers the involvement of victims, offenders and communities in achieving justice and addressing the harm caused by crime.

Restorative Justice is part of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General’s Crime Prevention Information Series. It provides general information about restorative justice for service providers, potential participants and others.