Safe City Wellington – whatever you’re up to

The World Health Organization has designated Wellington with 'Safe Community' focus- so far the only country capital city internationally to be recognised in this way.

This doesn’t mean that the Wellington City Council is resting its laurels, it currently providing more resources in to keeping the city safe.

The Council worked with its partners to identify the issues impacting the Wellington city safety and put in place funding and programmes to improve safety for all who live, work and play in the city.

In 2000, Wellington City introduced the City Safety Package, with 31 initiatives and funding of over $5 million. The package is underpinned by a dynamic Safety Strategy which includes a range of safety initiatives geared to improving safety, and the perception of safety, in public places. These efforts aim to ensure that residents and visitors alike feel safe in Wellington at any time.

Key elements of the Safety Package include

• 15 full-time equivalent city safety (Walkwise) officers operating 24 hours a day, 7days a week in the central city. The Walkwise officers act as ambassadors for the Council, aiming to prevent and deter crime and anti-social behaviour through their presence.
• Partnerships with government, Police, health and community agencies, and the business sector, especially the hospitality and security industries. The partnership with Police has been particularly important, allowing the Council to take a leadership role in facilitating and promoting models of community safety.
• Increased events for youth, along with youth participation in the planning and delivery of Council-led initiatives.
• The integration of safety initiatives into 'business as usual'. Examples include urban design, lighting and the development of partnerships.
• Injury prevention through projects such as the Councils Liquor Licensing Policy and the inter-agency Liquor Liaison Group, the joint ACC and Walkwise initiative known as Shopsafe (aimed at reducing injuries among retail staff) and the Councils Safer Roads project (aimed at reducing traffic accidents in the city by a third by 2010)

Under the Safer Roads project the Council supports two transport initiatives for young people and people travelling through the city late at night.

• Homesafe – is a pre-paid, set-fare taxi voucher for young people travelling from anywhere in Wellington’s CBD to their homes (within Wellington City). The scheme enables parents, caregivers and young people to buy the set-fare vouchers with suburban zone destinations on them. The vouchers cannot be used for anything other than to get home.
• After midnight bus service - runs to various suburbs in Wellington City. The bus companies provide the service on contract to Greater Wellington, the regional council. The service is Resource Packs.

The council has also been proactive in promoting safety messages during student orientation at Wellington Campuses. It I estimated that the student population in Wellington City during the academic year is 30,000, with 12,000 participating in orientation.

There were a number of issues around student behaviour identified during orientation including at risk behaviour in the CBD. To help, Wellington City Council and its partners NZ Police and ACC connected with various academic institutes regarding their planning for the orientation in an effort to remind students that "everyone’s responsible for safety"

The outcome was a number of branded giveaways such as plaster packs with the slogans such as “It only takes a second, Stop, Look, Live”, fliers and a WCC safety desk set up on campus during orientation.

If you would like a resource pack with more safety information call the Council on (04) 499 4444 or visit their website (www.wellignton.govt.nz)

Alternatively, you can print out the safety poster and tips below.

• Safety poster (106Kb PDF)
• Safety tips (120Kb PDF)