Safety (traffic and crime) Essentials

Crime is an important social barrier to routine physical activity. Fear of crime often keeps people from routinely walking and biking around their community or from using parks, trails or greenways. The issue becomes more significant for more vulnerable groups such as children, older adults and women, and for low-income communities where crime is often more prevalent. Crime can be addressed using a variety of means including: crime prevention through environmental design, community policing, neighborhood watch, and a variety of community-building, community revitalization and community organizing strategies. Fear of crime can also be reduced through group activity, public education and programmatic support. This page offers some important resources to help facilitate your work on this important part of active living.