We all want Nova Scotia to be a safe place to live and raise children. The Province of Nova Scotia is committed to working with its community and police partners to reduce and prevent crime in Nova Scotia.

We need to find new ways of looking at crime and addressing the many factors that are causing people to get involved in criminal activity. While we look for solutions, we know the answer to safer communities does not rest with more jails, more courthouses and more police officers. While enforcement and accountability will always be important, on their own they will not reduce and prevent crime.

We need to tackle the root causes of crime. Just as important, government, community, police, individuals and others need to work together. The entire community is affected by crime and, therefore, the entire community needs to be involved in the solutions.

The following pages outline some of the actions government and its partners will undertake in 2012-13. They also outline the principles that will guide the province’s actions and investments. But this is only a start. We want our investments to have maximum impact and to reflect the experience and expertise of our partners and our citizens. To that end, evaluation will be a critical component of everything we do.

The coming year is going to be an exciting one.

I am very much looking forward to working with our partners as we build on existing crime prevention investments and introduce new measures.

To all of the groups and individuals across the province who are committed to community safety and making a difference, thank you. Your commitment and your partnership are our building blocks for success.
 
Ross Landry
Minister of Justice

Documents

• Actions to Prevent and Reduce Crime (PDF)
• Crime Prevention Principles 2012-2013 (PDF)
• Keynote Speech for Justice Minister Ross Landry, delivered March 28, 2012 at the Crime Prevention Sympoisum in Halifax, NS (PDF)