Council
27 October, 2025
Four-year plan to enhance community safety
Wingecarribee Shire Council has endorsed a four-year plan designed to enhance community safety.
Wingecarribee Shire Council has endorsed a four-year plan designed to enhance community safety.
Council resolved at its October 15 meeting to place the Safe Highlands: 2025-2029 plan on public exhibition for 28 days.
At the same time it will undertake further consultation with community organisations to confirm the plan aligns with community needs and expectations.
Council’s previous Community Safety Plan expired in 2020 and according to staff “no longer reflects the safety landscape of the shire due to changes in demographics, emerging safety risks, policing approaches and regional priorities”.
The new draft plan was developed using evidence from community and stakeholder consultation, data provided by the Southern Highlands Local Area Command and NSW crime statistics.
The draft plan outlines council’s role in working with community groups and residents to enhance perceptions of safety, reduce the risk of crime and anti-social behaviour and to respond effectively to family and domestic violence.
The draft Safe Highlands: 2025-2029 plan identifies four key themes:
· Infrastructure and public space safety;
· Emergency preparedness and community resilience;
· Domestic and family violence, and
· Crime prevention.
It acknowledges that no single agency or individual can deliver a safe community alone and that “collaboration is essential”.
The plan identifies a range of actions to help deliver on the objectives for each of the key themes. Those objectives include:
· Improving the built environment to enhance safety, accessibility and useability of public spaces;
· Strengthening community capacity to respond to and recover from emergencies and disasters;
· Preventing and responding to domestic violence by increasing crisis support, improving legal and advocacy pathways and educating the community, and
· Strengthening community safety and inclusion by delivering coordinated crime prevention, road safety and partnership initiatives that reduce risk and build awareness.
While council will take the lead role on some of the initiatives, it will play the role of partner, advocate, supporter or facilitator for others.
Some of the initiatives it will take the lead on include improvements to street lighting in key public spaces and delivery of connected pathway networks in priority areas. It will also design and activate ‘inclusive and exciting’ public spaces for young people with a particular focus on making them safe and welcoming for girls and young women.
To help build emergency preparedness and community resilience it will deliver two campaigns across council channels every year to help increase awareness and readiness for emergencies including natural disasters.
The plan acknowledges that official statistics significantly underestimate the prevalence of domestic and family violence (DFV) in the Wingecarribee Shire. With under-reporting estimated at almost 40 per cent it is recognised as a critical and on-going social issue.
It will take the lead role on two initiatives including achieving workplace accreditation in DFV prevention and response and ensuring the council website maintains updated and accessible links to local DFV support services.
The largest number of initiatives fall under the crime prevention focus area. Council will take the lead on three of those initiatives including providing regular community safety messaging through digital and in-person platforms; reviewing and maintaining Alcohol Free Zones and Alcohol Prohibited Zones across the shire and promoting road safety awareness, particularly for younger drivers.
Delivery of the plan will be supported through existing partnerships and council’s operational budget wherever possible. Additional funding will be sought through grant opportunities when required.
The plan will be adopted at the end of the exhibition period if there are no submissions.
Read More: Southern Highlands