Community & Public Safety

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Significance

Community and public safety that includes services such as fire, police, emergency medical services and code enforcement that are responsive to all residents so that everyone feels safe to live, work, and play in anywhere in Washington.

Feeling safe impacts how people interact in their environment. To create an environment in Washington where everyone feels safe to live, work, and play, we must begin with understanding community perception of safety and their actual experiences of crime.

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Community Perception of Safety

Feeling safe impacts how people interact in their environment. The reason perceived safety is important is because it influences the level to which people feel isolated or engaged in their neighborhoods. Research has shown that increased resident isolation can impact individuals and neighborhoods in ways such as increased depression rates, increased child maltreatment rates, and overall increase in crime rates. To create an environment in Washington where Washington where everyone feels safe to live, work, and play, we must begin with understanding resident perception of safety.

group of young people standing in the street

Actual Safety

The measure of actual safety is important because it helps reveal why people in various regions experience differing levels of perceived safety. Examining documented incidents of compromised safety allows the State to create targeted interventions to build an environment where everyone feels safe to live, work, and play. It is important to consider rate at which different populations experience crime. The rate to which crime is experienced by one group over another can influence the perception of safety which ultimately impacts the ability of people to feel safe to live, work, and play in the State.

Perceived Safety

three young people in a midair jump
three young people in a midair jump

Community Perception of Safety

Feeling safe impacts how people interact in their environment. The reason perceived safety is important is because it influences the level to which people feel isolated or engaged in their neighborhoods. Research has shown that increased resident isolation can impact individuals and neighborhoods in ways such as increased depression rates, increased child maltreatment rates, and overall increase in crime rates. To create an environment in Washington where Washington where everyone feels safe to live, work, and play, we must begin with understanding resident perception of safety.

Actual Safety

group of young people standing in the street
group of young people standing in the street

Actual Safety

The measure of actual safety is important because it helps reveal why people in various regions experience differing levels of perceived safety. Examining documented incidents of compromised safety allows the State to create targeted interventions to build an environment where everyone feels safe to live, work, and play. It is important to consider rate at which different populations experience crime. The rate to which crime is experienced by one group over another can influence the perception of safety which ultimately impacts the ability of people to feel safe to live, work, and play in the State.