Addressing racism in public safety: Hearing from those most affected

Making public spaces safe for everyone

Not all Calgarians experience public spaces equally. Hateful behaviour and speech continues to negatively impact the lives of many Calgarians, especially Indigenous, Black, and racialised communities. There was a need to understand the root causes of hate, racism, and discrimination in City services and public spaces, and to work together to create change.

Following the success of the Community Anti-Racism Action Strategy, the City of Calgary engaged Habitus and ActionDignity to develop a Public Safety Anti-Racism Action Strategy. This work focused specifically on people-based public safety: making sure that all who live, work, and visit Calgary can access and enjoy public spaces free of harassment and discrimination.

The strategy was co-developed with the City's Anti-Racism Program, the Anti-Racism Action Committee, the Anti-Hate Action Working Group, and Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers.

Challenges

This project required engaging with people who had experienced racism in some of the most difficult contexts, including negative interactions with law enforcement and the justice system. Many of these voices had been previously missed, and many had never shared their experiences before.

Creating conditions where people felt safe to share required particular care. The topic could bring up difficult feelings and emotions, and the engagement needed to be genuinely trauma-informed rather than just using the language. We also needed to reach communities whose first language was not English, ensuring the process was truly accessible.

What we did

Our work spanned over the course of a year:

Scoping and planning: We developed the engagement approach in partnership with the City's Anti-Racism Program, the Anti-Racism Action Committee, and Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers.

Engagement: We engaged 1,049 participants through a combination of online and in-person events. Community listening sessions were held with organisations representing South Sudanese, Somali, Caribbean, South Asian, Filipino, Latin American, Indigenous, and other communities. A multilingual public survey was available in nine languages: English, Tigrinya, French, Somali, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Amharic, and Punjabi. We specifically sought out people whose voices had been previously missed.

Analysis and strategy development: All feedback was analysed and organised into concrete recommendations and actions. The final Public Safety Anti-Racism Action Strategy, titled "One City, One Journey, One Safe Crossing," was submitted to the City.

Throughout, we linked mental health resources for anyone who needed support after sharing, recognising that this topic could surface difficult experiences.

How we made a difference

Building on the relationships and approach developed through the Community Anti-Racism Action Strategy, we were able to reach deeper into communities who had reason to distrust institutions. The community broker model continued to be central, with trusted community members supporting engagement.

The multilingual approach was essential. By offering surveys and materials in nine languages, we removed barriers that often exclude newcomer and migrant communities from civic engagement.

The action-oriented nature of the project continued to be important. People needed to know their contributions would lead to real change, not just another report.

Results

The engagement gathered experiences, ideas, and recommendations for change from 1,049 Indigenous, Black, and racialised Calgarians.

The final strategy, "One City, One Journey, One Safe Crossing: The City of Calgary Public Safety Anti-Racism Action Strategy," provides concrete actions across five focus areas:

1. Develop and implement anti-racism education and training

2. Promote and integrate disaggregated race-based data

3. Increase representation of Indigenous, Black, and diverse racialised peoples in leadership and frontline positions

4. Develop, promote, and deliver racially equitable public safety programmes, services, policies, and systems

5. Create anti-racist safe spaces and promote the wellbeing of Indigenous, Black, and diverse racialised communities

The strategy covers public safety providers including Calgary Police Service, Calgary Fire Department, Corporate Security, Transit Public Safety, Calgary Housing Company, and Community Standards. It was instrumental in the development of the City's broader Anti-Racism Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

Public Safety Lead Anti-Racism Program, City of Calgary: "People who had never shared before trusted us with their experiences. That is not something that happens without genuine care and the right approach."

See our work in action: We designed and built the online engagement portal for this project. Explore it here to see how we created accessible, multilingual spaces for community participation.

Related case studies

See our City of Calgary Community Anti-Racism Action Strategy case study for the foundational work that led to this project.

Habitus has a track record of designing engagement that centres the voices of those often unheard, and supporting organisations to turn what they hear into concrete action. If you are looking to develop anti-racism strategies, engage with equity-seeking communities, or create more inclusive consultation processes, get in touch.