Frequently Asked Questions

A Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) Plan is a tool to address key social priorities and goals for safety and well-being. These can include a wide range of issues from mental health to poverty, to building inclusive communities and much more.

Developing a CSWB Plan is about working together to ensure the right services get to the right people at the right time. It involves an integrated approach to service delivery by working with a wide range of agencies and organizations (including but not limited to local and regional government, police service, public health and mental health providers, education, social services, community and custodial services for children and youth).

A CSWB Plan involves identifying risks and proactively developing and implementing evidence-based strategies and programs to address local priorities related to crime and complex social issues.

Community safety and well-being is integral to providing a high quality of life.

The ultimate goal of this type of planning is to achieve a sustainable community where everyone is safe, has a sense of belonging, opportunities to participate and where individuals and families are able to meet their needs for education, health care, food, housing, income and social/cultural expression. The success of society is linked to the well-being of each and every individual.

Why are we developing a CSWB Plan?

In accordance with Provincial legislation through the Ministry of the Solicitor General, as part of the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 and the Safer Ontario Act (2018), municipalities are required to develop and adopt a Community Safety and Well-Being Plan (CSWB). The legislation specifies working in partnership with a multi-sectoral advisory committee comprised of representation from the police service board and other local service providers in health/mental health, education, community social services and children/youth services.

The Provincial CSWB Planning Framework was released by the Ministry of the Solicitor General and outlines the provincial approach to community safety and well-being4. The framework, consisting of four levels of community safety planning intervention (Social Development, Prevention, Risk Intervention and Incident Response), is intended to guide municipalities, First Nations communities and partners in developing local plans. According to the Ministry of the Solicitor General, developing and implementing strategies that are proactive and focused on social development, prevention and early intervention reduce the financial burden of crime.

Social Development: Addressing the underlying causes of social issues through upstream approaches that promote and maintain individual and community wellness. This includes opportunities for employment, income, adequate housing, access to education and other supports that promote social and economic inclusion. 

Prevention: Applying proactive strategies to known and identified risks that are likely to result in harm to individuals or communities if left unmitigated. 

Risk Intervention: Identifying and responding to situations of acutely elevated risk and mobilizing immediate interventions before an emergency or crisis-driven response is required.

Incident Response: Circumstances that require intervention by first responders such as police, paramedics and other crisis-driven services in the human services system.

There are many benefits of developing a CSWB Plan, including:

• Enhanced communication and collaboration across sectors, agencies and organizations.
• Effective alignment of resources and responsibilities to better address local priorities and needs.
• Better understanding of local risks and vulnerable groups.
• Increased awareness of and access to services for community members, including vulnerable groups.
• An opportunity to keep Lambton County safe and ensure its residents enjoy a high quality of life.

What are the CSWB Plan identified priorities for Lambton County?

The CSWB Oversight Committee approved priorities based on community input are:

• Community Safety;
• Housing and Homelessness;
• Mental Health and Addictions;
• Poverty; and
• Systemic Racism

CSWB planning recognizes that complex risks to safety and well-being cannot be addressed in isolation by any one organization, agency or sector. The goal of CSWB planning is to achieve greater coordination and collaboration on issues and situations before they escalate.

The aim of the CSWB Plan is not to duplicate efforts underway but to support and complement this work and address gaps. As part of the development of the CSWB Plan identified initiatives and strategies, which align with community safety and well-being planning, have provided Lambton’s CSWB Plan with predetermined actions based on current and future needs, best practices and insights from our community. From the large number of plans and strategies identified in the Asset Map section of the Data Report, the following were specifically used in identifying the priorities and the specifics for each priority, such as indicators:

• Canadian Community Health Survey (2017-2018);
• Lambton County Emergency Response Plan (2019);
• Housing & Homelessness Plan (2020-2024);
• Lambton Detachment OPP Action Plan (2020-2022);
• Mental Health Profile, Lambton County (2018);
• Ontario Health Team Full Application Submission - “Innovating Together for Better Health”*;
• Petrolia Community Well-Being Master Plan (2018);
• Sarnia Police Service Business Plan (2020-2022)

* In November 2020, the provincial government approved the Sarnia-Lambton Ontario Health Team as an official Ontario Health Team.

It is important to note that this is not an exhaustive list of initiatives and strategies related to the identified five priorities; other plans and community initiatives that support community safety and well-being will be identified to support future iterations of the plan.

The CSWB Plan must include the following core information:

• Local priority risk factors that have been identified based on community consultations and multiple sources of data including data from Statistics Canada as well as local sector-specific information.
• Evidence-based programs and strategies to address those priority risk factors.
• Measurable outcomes with associated performance measures to ensure that the strategies are effective and the outcomes are being achieved.

The Corporation of the County of Lambton retained DU B FIT Consulting to conduct community consultations and devise the contents of the plan. To provide guidance and oversight to the development of the plan, four groups were established to develop a plan that builds on the levels of intervention for community safety and well-being:

1. The Oversight Committee was the accountable group to County Council to ensure the Ministry requirements were met and manage the budget for the planning process. This group also made the decisions regarding the components of the CSWB Plan. The Community Safety and Well-Being Oversight Committee:

• City of Sarnia; Emergency Management and Corporate Security
• County of Lambton; Emergency Management Services Division, Public Health Services Division, Social Services Division
• Lambton County Council
• Lambton Police Services Board
• Municipality of Lambton Shores
• Ontario Provincial Police, Lambton Detachment
• Sarnia Police Services
• Village of Point Edward

2. The larger Advisory Committee was created to represent the broader community sectors required through the Ministry of the Solicitor General for this CSWB planning process. The Advisory Committee:

• Bluewater Health
• Canadian Mental Health Association, Lambton-Kent
• Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation
• Conseil scolaire catholique Providence
• County of Lambton; Public Health Services Division, Social Services Division
• Lambton-Kent District School Board
• Sarnia- Lambton Ontario Health Team
• Sarnia-Lambton Children’s Aid Society
• Sarnia-Lambton Native Friendship Centre
• Sarnia Police Services Board
• St. Clair Catholic District School Board
• Town of Petrolia
• Township of Warwick Recreation Services
• Village of Point Edward Fire and Rescue
• Village of Point Edward Police Services Board

3. A Data Collection Group was established to compile and review local data sets and identify indicators for Lambton County’s Data Report. The Data Collection Group:

• Canadian Mental Health Association, Lambton-Kent
• County of Lambton; Public Health Services Division, Social Services Division
• Lambton-Kent District School Board
• Ontario Provincial Police, Lambton Detachment

4. A working group was developed for each identified Priority. Working groups played a pivotal role in identifying gaps in the community and identified effective strategies and initiatives that would enhance the safety and well-being of Lambton County.