METRAC's Community Safety Audit Process
Steps to carry out a METRAC Community Safety Audit

METRAC's Community Safety Audit Process

METRAC’s Community Safety Audit is a community action tool used by groups of people to assess the safety of their community in both the physical and social environments. It is done from the perspective of those who live, work, and play in the area. The Safety Audit is based on the simple fact that people who live or use an area are the experts on safety in that area. The Safety Audit has been used to assess the safety of:

• Neighbourhoods
• Public transit systems
• Housing units
Parks
• Parking lots and garages
• College and University campuses
• Workplaces and schools

METRAC’s Community Safety Audit brings people together to address everyone’s public safety, focusing on those who are most vulnerable to violence. It recognizes that women and other vulnerable groups most often feel unsafe in public spaces and actively address their fear of verbal, physical, and sexual assault and harassment. It helps people to come up with ideas to enhance the safety of an area and empowers them to work toward change. Additionally, our audit process:

• Creates an opportunity for women and other community members to share their expertise about safety
• Helps people talk about their concerns and share ideas for reducing violence
• Considers how violence affects people based on their identity (e.g. gender, religion, race, and sexual identity)
• Helps make communities safer for women and, in turn, for everyone

METRAC’s Community Safety Audit Kit is available in multiple languages (English, simplified Chinese, French, Punjabi, Spanish, and Tamil) from our Publications page, and it has been adapted for use by children and youth.

METRAC's Community Safety Audit Brochure (PDF, 190 KB)

Here are some of the benefits of METRAC’s Community Safety Audit:

• Helps to bring about improvements to physical environments – obvious things like fixing burnt out lights, adding more lights, cleaning up an area, or adding security
• Identifies programs, policies and practices needed to enhance safety
• Increases awareness and understanding of people’s concerns; provides important information for planners and elected officials
• An excellent tool for involving people in community decision-making processes; also may prompt other groups to act on the concerns identified

Steps to carry out a METRAC Community Safety Audit

1. Organize a group in your neighbourhood to do an audit
2. Attend our next Community Safety Audit training session
3. Pick date, places, and times
4. Conduct the Safety Audit in your neighbourhood
5. Collate the results and send to METRAC for report
6. Meet again to discuss results and strategize follow-up actions

METRAC's Community Safety Audit is a powerful tool for community-driven change. Not all changes will happen at once, but our tool will help to open discussion, identify plans for change, and prioritize anti-violence action.

If you would like more information about Community Safety Audits, please contact us directly at 416-392-3137 or safety@metrac.org or 416-392-3137.