Lucas Green
The Community Safety Education Act was introduced by the Federal Government in 2021. The community safety program was conceptualized to provide an environment that encouraged community oriented civil dialogue and self-regulation. The Act intends to strengthen the role of the community in producing its own leaders by giving it the power to choose its own civil leaders, while at the same time discouraging the occurrence of the types of behaviour that have caused many a community to shun away from the benefits of living in a peaceful and harmonious community. For many communities that have lost trust in their police department, this may seem like a mere travesty, but the Federal Government saw the need to stand behind its police officers and ensure that they maintained high levels of integrity. The Community Safety Education Act tries to ensure that these goals are met.
As part of the Community Safety Education Program: The Federal Government has required all States to develop their own individual community crime prevention plans. These community plans are then required to be implemented in all the municipalities within the State. Failure to comply with the terms of these plans, or any recommendations thereof, may lead to the immediate termination of funding by the Federal Government. Failure to comply also allows for the State to take control of these programs in the future. This move has caused consternation among those that feel that the police should not be allowed to interfere in their right to vote, or otherwise regulate the way that they live their lives.
Despite the community safety education: Act is a Federal concern, most local municipalities are more than happy to let the Federal Government to handle the implementation of the plans. Most municipalities also receive hefty amounts of Federal money each year in grant money. The reason that the Federal Government handles the community safety education program better than the States is because the States are generally poor at implementing their community safety plans. For one, the States are ill-equipped with the necessary technology needed for effective community safety enforcement. This means that many States have very little money for community security and have to depend on federal grants in order to make up the deficit.
It is also fairly easy for a criminal to escape punishment for their crime in a community if that community doesn’t have its own community safety enforcement units. This is why the FBI has encouraged State leaders to develop their own community safety units. Although it may seem like an unnecessary expense, this is an extremely important aspect of community security. Without these units, criminals can very easily operate within a neighborhood without drawing unwanted attention to themselves. This can be very dangerous and even deadly.
One way that we can ensure
That our communities are well-equipped with community safety units is through the implementation of what is the purpose of the community safety education act. The act instructs that all municipal bodies such as police departments, fire departments, and other municipal institutions work in conjunction with the FBI in order to promote a stronger sense of community. The goal here is to bolster the ability of local law enforcement to deter crime and to apprehend criminals who have absconded. Community policing is all about interdependence and working alongside our neighbors. If a neighborhood is truly safe, then the quality of life of that neighborhood will obviously be higher.
Crime rates tend to reflect a community’s general health.
Another way that the community safety education act helps us is that it provides funding for community organizations that work in the prevention of crime. Some of the types of projects supported by this funding are youth mentoring programs and after-school programs for at-risk youth. Preventing crime is one thing; preventing crime in a community is another. We need to take this seriously and work in solidarity with our fellow citizens.
