Perception of safety is generally used as a way to measure fear of crime. Statistics Canada defines fear of crime as "the fear, rather than the actual likelihood, of being a victim of crime".[1]
Why is this important?
A person does not need to experience a crime to experience fear of crime. Both crime and the fear of crime can have negative impacts on communities, including decreasing trust and interactions among community members.[1] Fear of crime can impact social participation by preventing people from taking part in activities.[2] People who feel safe in their neighbourhood, often still take precautions to protect themselves against being the victim of a crime.[3]
Perceived Community Safety
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Perceived community safety is the degree to which a person feels safe in their community or neighbourhood.[1]
Average Feelings of Safety in Guelph and Wellington County
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In 2021, the Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership conducted research to gather information about the discrimination experiences of immigrants, visible minorities, and Indigenous Peoples in Guelph and Wellington County. A representative sample of 686 people in Guelph and 395 people in Wellington County (not including Guelph) were surveyed.[4,5]
Survey participants were asked were asked the extent to which they felt safe in Guelph or Wellington County (from "not at all" to "extremely").
Key Findings
Respondents indicated that they felt moderately to very safe in both Guelph and Wellington County. Indigenous Peoples reported a sightly lower perception of safety (Guelph: 3.14; Wellington County: 3.39), followed by immigrants and visible minorities (Guelph: 3.48; Wellington County: 3.60) and White non-immigrants (Guelph: 3.72; Wellington County: 3.68).
*Wellington County does not include the City of Guelph.
Sources:
Looking for more information?
For more information, please download the excel file below or visit the Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership website.
Download Full Dataset
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Senior Kindergarten Parents who report Living in a Safe Neighbourhood
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This measure was taken from the Kindergarten Parent Survey. Parents of senior kindergarten students were asked to identify whether it was true, sometimes true or not true that "it is safe for children to play outside during the day in my neighbourhood". Parents who responded "true" were categorized as feeling safe in their neighbourhood.
Key Findings
Most local senior kindergarten parents said that it is safe for children to play outside during the day in their neighbourhood. This was true for more parents in Wellington County when compared to parents in Guelph.
*Wellington County does not include the City of Guelph.
Source: Kindergarten Parent Survey, 2015. Prepared by the County of Dufferin and the County of Wellington. WDG Report Card Coalition (distributor). Last updated August, 2016.
Limitations
The Kindergarten Parent Survey is a voluntary survey, therefore certain sub-groups may be over or underrepresented in the sample. Perception of safety is a measure of how safe a person feels and not how safe a neighbourhood is.
Looking for more information?
For more information about this measure please download the excel file below or visit the WDG Report Cards on the Well-being of Children website.
Download Full Dataset
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Youth who report Feeling Safe in their Neighbourhood
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This measure is collected through the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Well-being and Healthy (WHY) Youth Survey. Students in grades 4 through 12 within the Upper Grand District School Board and Wellington Catholic District School Board are asked a variety of health and well-being questions. Students are asked how safe they feel in their neighbourhood. Students who responded "yes", "very often", "often", "extremely", or "almost always" were categorized as feeling safe. Students who responded "no/not at all", "rarely", "somewhat", or "sortof/sometimes" were categorized as not feeling safe.
Key Findings
In 2022, most students in Guelph and Wellington County felt safe in their neighbourbood.
Source: Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health. (2022). 2022 Well-being and Health Youth Survey dashboard. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from https://wdgpublichealth.ca/your-kids/well-being-and-health-youth-why-survey/2022-well-being-and-health-youth-survey-dashboard
Limitations
The WHY Survey is a voluntary survey that relies on respondents to remember past experiences and perceptions. Responses can be impacted by response and recall biases. Perception of safety is a measure of how safe a person feels and not how safe a neighbourhood is.
Looking for more information?
For more information about this measure, please download the excel file below.
Download Full Dataset
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Why is perceived community safety important?
When people feel safe in their community or neighbourhood, they may be more likely to trust and interact with other members of their community.[1]
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References
[1] Fitzgerald, R. (N.D.) Crime and Justice Research Paper Series.Fear of Crime and the Neighbourhood Context in Canadian Cities. Canadian Centre for Justice Studies. Available at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-561-m/85-561-m2008013-eng.pdf
[2] Woolnough, A. D. 2009. Fear of crime on campus: Gender differences in use of self-protective behaviours at an urban university. Security Journal. No. 22, pages 40-55 as cited in Brennan, S. (2009). Canadians' perceptions of personal safety and crime. Statistics Canada. Available at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2011001/article/11577-eng.htm
[3] Brennan, S. (2009). Canadians' perceptions of personal safety and crime. Statistics Canada. Available at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2011001/article/11577-eng.htm
[4] Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership. (2022). Discrimination Experienced by Immigrants, Visible Minorities, and Indigenous Peoples in Guelph. http://www.guelphwellingtonlip.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GWLIP-Discrimination-Report-Guelph-final-web.pdf
[5] Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership. (2022). Discrimination Experienced by Immigrants, Visible Minorities, and Indigenous Peoples in Wellington County. http://www.guelphwellingtonlip.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/GWLIP-Discrimination-Report-Wellington-County-final-web.pdf
