Resource Manual

How does the community develop such programs?
The methods and procedures for developing crime prevention through social development programs are contained in an easy-to-use booklet titled, Building a Safer Canada: A Community-based Crime Prevention Manual supplied by the Government of Canada at no charge.

Resource Report

A publication titled, Step by Step - Evaluating Your Community Crime Prevention Efforts is available to community groups. Many communities are involved in community safety and crime prevention efforts. Unfortunately, very few of these projects are evaluated to prove that they are taking the right approach or at least that things are moving in the right direction. Whether this is due to lack of time, funding or expertise is hard to say. Yet, evaluation needs to become as important a consideration as keeping financial records, letting the public know about your work, and staying in touch with funders. In fact, evaluation is a big part of achieving success and making a difference.

Developed by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Community Safety and Crime Prevention, the Step by Step guide is designed to help you think about ways to measure what you are doing. It outlines general concepts and principles of evaluation and it walks you through the basic steps involved in evaluating projects. The approach involves three principles: it is geared towards projects, not groups or organizations; it emphasizes a before-and-after comparison (have things changed?) and measures whether your project has reached its objectives; and it is self-administered. The publication builds on the work outlined in Building a Safer Canada: A Community-based Crime Prevention Manual which was developed by Justice Canada. To receive a free copy, go to "Publications" on the National Crime Prevention Centre web site at ww4.psepc-sppcc.gc.ca.