City Council approves Community Safety Action Plan
Supporting a balanced response recognizing enforcement as essential while also strengthening prevention, intervention and education, are the primary goals of the City’s new Community Safety Action Plan (CSAP).
Previous initiatives, including the Downtown Clean & Safe Strategy (DCSS) and the Downtown Lawlessness Reduction Task Force (DLRTF), helped identify emerging pressures and highlighted the limits of short‑term, siloed responses. The CSAP reflects a deliberate shift from reactive, issue‑specific actions towards a more coordinated, city‑wide approach that aligns policy direction with implementation.
On Tuesday, Lethbridge City Council voted unanimously to adopt the CSAP, in principle, as a guiding framework to inform the coordination, implementation, and evaluation of community safety initiatives. It will support Administration’s use of existing, previously-approved, unspent, funding allocations to Clean and Safe initiatives to advance short and medium-term actions identified in the plan. These one-time investments will support pilots, studies, program reviews, additional research, training, public education, and other one-time initiatives that do not commit the City to additional ongoing operating costs.
“Echoing concerns we have heard loud and clear through the community in recent years, public safety is always our top priority,” says Mayor Blaine Hyggen. “The nature of community safety challenges continues to shift. Frontline services are increasingly responding to complex, non‑criminal situations related to housing instability, mental health, addiction and social disorder. The City’s intention for how it responds to these challenges has evolved. Change takes time and effort, but by all metrics things are headed in the right direction. This plan supports being a healthy and diverse city under Council’s 2026-2029 Strategic Plan.”
The intent of the CSAP is to provide a clear and implementable, evidence-informed framework that aligns existing initiatives, strengthens partnerships and introduces targeted actions where service gaps have been identified. It brings together current Clean and Safe initiatives and identifies areas for refinement and expansion, organized around four pillars of Education, Prevention, Intervention, and Enforcement. The plan is designed to be adaptive, using data and community insight to respond to changing conditions over time.
“This plan establishes a clear five-year direction for how municipal services, programs and partnerships will be aligned to improve community safety across Lethbridge,” says Andrew Malcolm, General Manager of Community Social Development (CSD). “It reflects a coordinated set of actions that respond to both persistent and emerging community safety concerns, including social disorder, public space safety and increasing service demands on police and emergency services.”
“Implementation will be phased and evidence-informed,” says Allison Sherry, Community Safety Specialist. “During the next two years, the focus is on using existing funding to test, evaluate and refine initiatives so we can better understand what works locally. This approach allows us to build a strong evidence base before bringing forward any potential long-term service or funding considerations to City Council.”
The Community Safety Strategy Committee (CSSC) serves as an advisory body to Administration, providing input, advice and recommendations to support the update and implementation of the plan. Members include representation from Lethbridge Police Service, Lethbridge Fire & Emergency Services, Regulatory Services, CSD, Communications and Engagement, Centre for Public Safety & Applied Research at Lethbridge Polytechnic, and business owners.
"I'm proud to be part of a committee that brings together community members and local government to work toward practical solutions that make Lethbridge safer and stronger, says Matthew McHugh, CSSC member and downtown business owner. “By working together, we're helping create a community where people feel safe and welcome, businesses can thrive, and our entire community benefits. There is no single solution to community safety, but by working together we can make meaningful progress.”
As part of Tuesday’s approval, Council has directed Administration to return through the 2028-2031 Operating Budget process with any CSAP initiatives that may require new or ongoing operating budget impacts.
For anyone interested in potentially joining the CSCC, the City is currently seeking additional community representation and interested individuals are encouraged to reach out to csd@lethbridge.ca for more information.
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