Empowering Communities aims to:

• build the capability of the community to understand crime related issues and design and implement effective crime prevention approaches
• strengthen relationships between community stakeholders to work in partnership to deliver crime prevention activity, and leverage community capacity to deliver sustainable outcomes beyond the funding period
• engage and mobilise the community to address issues of local concern
• build the evidence base for successful community development initiatives that address crime and safety issues.

Building Safer Communities Brimbank Forum 2020

Supported by the Department, a forum was held in Brimbank to bring a range of stakeholders and young people together to consider the data and evidence of issues that impact on crime and perceptions of safety in the community and identify key themes that could be addressed through the Empowering Communities project.

Themes that emerged during the forum included:

• youth boredom the need for safe and health spaces and activities for young people
• young people’s experience of racism and its effect on getting a job
• the desire for schools to facilitate and celebrate connection to culture
• a strong sense of community pride held by young people in Brimbank