Community safety

Feeling safe in our community depends on our individual experiences and perspective. What feels safe for one person may not feel safe for another.

Two children in Halloween costumes go trick-or-treating at a neighbour’s house.
A young boy plays with toy cars in the grass with his father.

Sense of community safety

Our sense of safety is based on many factors. Being protected from injury and victimization, having secure income and housing, being connected to our neighbours, and having our needs and views represented in local decision-making are all things that can make us feel safe. [1]

Not everyone feels safe in our community
View dashboard

Not everyone feels safe in our community

When we feel unsafe, we are held back from doing the things we want and living full lives. Despite wanting to choose active transportation, a person may drive rather than walk because their route is poorly lit or icy. Or a student who has experienced harassment for their gender identity may avoid joining social clubs at a new school. 

In 2021, people age 18 years and older in Guelph and Wellington County felt only moderately safe in the community. A dot plot shows the average feelings of safety among people in Wellington County age 18 years and older in 2021. The x-axis shows the average feelings of safety (not safe to very safe), and the y-axis shows the demographic group (immigrants and visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, and white non-immigrants). Dots indicate the average feelings of safety for each demographic group. Among all groups, average feelings of safety were slightly higher than halfway between not safe and very safe. Source: Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership
Library books on a shelf.

References

Buxton, M., Fradkin, A., & Wallace, A. (2021). Measuring community safety in NYC. 

An open drawer in a card catalog.

Data sources

Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership. (2022). Experiences of discrimination in Guelph – Final report, March 2022. 

Guelph-Wellington Local Immigration Partnership. (2022). Experiences of discrimination in Wellington County – Final report, March 2022. 

Stories you may be interested in

View all Stories

Tackling food waste from farm to green bin 

Hear from the University of Guelph, The SEED, Food Cycle Science, and the City of Guelph and learn what community organizations, businesses, and municipalities can do to reduce food waste across the supply chain—and how it can improve food security. 

Community stories
January 20th, 2025