FAQs
- Designing spaces in our city that discourage anti-social behaviour.
- Awareness building and education campaigns.
- Listening to the community on how and what makes people feel safer.
- Understanding statistics and trends.
- Local crime trends.
- Areas where people feel unsafe.
- Top community safety concerns.
- Where you find out about safety information.
- How you report crime.
- Assessing Development Applications.
- Implementing safety projects (e.g. Safer Cities: Her Way; Traffic Signal Boxes).
- Community partnerships (e.g. Reclaim the Night).
- Collaborating with local Police to identify hot spots.
- Providing and promoting helpful safety information to our diverse community.
- Advocating for the safety needs of the community.
- Safety audits.
What is community safety?
Community safety means people feel safe and are safe in their homes and in their community. We work to create a safe city in lots of different ways including:
We also work closely with lots of different groups such as Police, government agencies and community organisations to do all this and make Wollongong a safer place.
What is the Community Safety Survey?
The Community Safety Survey asks the community about their crime and safety concerns in their neighbourhoods and in the Wollongong city centre. We also ask about people’s experience of crime, their feelings of safety and where they receive their local information about crime and safety.
This information helps us to better understand our community’s perceptions and experiences of crime and safety and how to provide information and knowledge that will increase safety for the community. We’ll use what we hear from the community to help us decide what we’ll focus on to improve safety for everyone, this will be the next Community Safety Plan.
We ask the community about community safety through this survey (previously known as the Perceptions of Safety Survey) every four years so the feedback we receive is current and relevant.
What does Council do with the survey information?
The survey is conducted every four years and the responses we receive from the survey will help shape the next 2026 – 2030 Community Safety Plan.
What is the Community Safety Plan?
The 2026 -2030 Community Safety Plan will be our next four-year action plan that uses local crime statistics, crime trends and feedback from the community to develop measures which will reduce the opportunity for crime in the Wollongong Local Government Area and create safer public spaces.
The Plan’s actions will aim to address the community’s safety needs and crime concerns, building upon the work of the previous Plan. We want to make Wollongong a safer place for everyone to live, work and enjoy.
How can I help keep Wollongong safe?
We can all play an important part in creating a safe community and help to reduce crime. The feedback that we receive in the Community Safety Survey gives us valuable information on things like:
This information allows us to respond to the areas and issues of greatest concern and create safer public places.
Another important way you can help, is to report any crime or suspicious behaviour.
There are several different ways to report different crimes and activities or provide relevant information. You can learn more about reporting here.
What does Council do to make Wollongong Safe?
Our Community Partnership and Safety Team work to reduce the opportunity for crime and create safer public places. We do this in lots of ways including: