Community safety
What is community safety?
Community safety is a part of all aspects of our lives and is essential to health and wellbeing. It includes:
- increasing community wellbeing and cohesion, and social and cultural inclusion
- increasing opportunities for social and physical activity
- improving public amenities
- preventing and reducing hardship and insecure housing
- preventing and reducing incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour.
What is Council’s role?
We know that community safety requires a partnership approach. This is why we work collaboratively with our communities, support and service organisations, Victoria Police and State Government.
We play a role in:
- fostering diversity, inclusion and social connection
- activating public spaces through community grants and funding
- providing supports for those experiencing hardship and insecure housing
- maintaining and upgrading public amenities and addressing identified traffic blackspot issues
- fostering strong partnerships with police and other emergency services, local traders and community groups
- activating and revitalising our high streets
- developing regulations to promote and maintain safety
- maintaining safe public spaces through CCTV, Local Laws and joint patrols with Police and partnerships with service providers.
Council respects and supports the right of all members of our community to feel safe and be safe.
We acknowledge the diversity of lived experiences and the impacts that different circumstances can have on people’s lives.
The Community Safety Plan
This outlines how we’re working towards building a safe and connected community where everyone feels safe to live, work and play. The plan contains three key priority areas:
- Creating safe spaces – we aim to ensure that our public spaces – including streets, bike paths and corridors, entertainment precincts, foreshore and parks - are safe and well-maintained.
- Building resilience – we aim to foster diversity, inclusion, connection and resilience for all members of the community, including the most vulnerable.
- Healthy living – we aim to support a diverse and vibrant entertainment economy while reducing incidents of harm.
On 2 August 2023, Council extended the Community Safety Plan and updated the action plan to set priorities and initiatives to November 2025.
Our next Community Safety Plan 2025-2029
We will be developing a new plan in the next twelve months and will be seeking community feedback. Information about getting involved will be available here and through our Have Your Say Page.
Our Local Laws, Rapid Response and joint patrols
Council’s Local Laws outline what is and isn’t allowed on Council land, roads and streets. These Laws are developed under The Local Government Act 1989 (Victoria) to manage a range of community issues.
Our activities to manage and protect the safety and amenity of our community, including protection of amenity and Council land and how this is enforced are outlined in the Community Amenity Local Law 2023.
Rapid Response
Our Rapid Response team patrol key areas of the City daily to clean the streets and support people sleeping rough. See the monthly social and amenity management reports below for more information about the work of the Rapid Response and City Amenity teams.
See below for information about our annual summer management campaign aimed at helping keep our City safe and clean when there are many visitors.
Joint patrols
Our Locals Laws officers work collaboratively with Victoria Police members from South Melbourne and St Kilda Stations to patrol on foot together along key high streets in the City.
These patrols are an opportunity to share information about issues on the streets, and for traders and residents to ask questions of our local Victoria Police and Local Laws Officers.
Joint patrols are dependent on police resourcing. We continue to advocate for extra police resources for these patrols to be held regularly
Who to call and how to make a report
In most instances, your first call for reporting a crime or safety incident should be to Victoria Police or other emergency services.
| Victoria Police | Council |
If you see any dangerous or life-threatening behaviour or are in danger, call triple zero (000) immediately. If the situation is non-urgent, then you can contact the Police Assistance Line 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 131 444 or via their online platform. If you have information that could help solve a crime and do not need immediate police assistance you can make a report via Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or via the Crime Stoppers website For business support contact Business and commercial safety | Victoria Police | Public space maintenance requests, local health and safety issues and pet and alcohol restriction non-compliance and other issues can be reported to Council by:
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Our partners
Community safety is best achieved when working collaboratively. Some of our key partners, and the work they do, are listed below.
Trauma Aware Port Phillip
Trauma Aware Port Phillip (TAPP) is a community-led, evidence-informed project to strengthen resilience and reduce the impact of trauma and shame in the Port Phillip community.
The TAPP Working Group is a network of individuals, organisations and service providers in the Port Phillip local government area who are collaborating to empower sectors and community to enhance connection and capacity, reduce trauma and shame in everyday interactions, build inclusion, and share knowledge. Through this work we aim to improve community health and wellbeing, increase social cohesion and resilience, support local services sectors, and build sustainable positive change.
For more information contact the City of Port Phillip Community Safety Lead on 03 9209 6777.
| Service | Contacts |
Housing and homelessness services – referrals and support | For more information see Housing and homelessness services |
| Legal support | |
| Community sector – programs, advice, support |