Impact of Community Development on Crime and Poverty in Vancouver

This report examines the correlation between poverty and crime rates in Vancouver, Canada, highlighting the influence of social issues on criminal activity. It delves into the impact of community development programs and meaningful engagement strategies, such as the Poverty Reduction Plan 2018-2019, on reducing poverty and subsequently, crime. The analysis includes an overview of the Strain Theory, which explains the relationship between social factors and crime, and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of community organizations and committees like the Poverty Reduction Advisory Committee and Community Action Network. The report evaluates the effectiveness of these initiatives, emphasizing their role in providing resources, employment opportunities, and improving the quality of life for Vancouver residents, ultimately contributing to a decrease in the city's crime rate. The report also looks at how various organizations are collectively working to provide education, childcare, amenities, housing, health, and employment to the local community of Vancouver city and improving economic and social equality in direction to reduce crime rate in the city and country.

Community Development and Engagement
Student Details

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Executive Summary
This discusses the impact of social aspects on increasing the crime rate in Vancouver
city. This study provides an outline of the relationship of poverty and crime rate in the
community, and the impact of community development programs and meaningful engagement of
people to reduce poverty, focusing on the local community of Vancouver city.
In this study community development programs and their effectiveness towards poverty
reduction also has been discussed

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Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Analysis and Integration..................................................................................................................3
Poverty and crime........................................................................................................................3
Strain theory.................................................................................................................................4
Community Development and Engagement................................................................................4
Community Development/Engagement Strategy for Social Issue..................................................5
Community Organizations...........................................................................................................5
Poverty Reduction Advisory Committee.................................................................................6
Poverty Reduction Plan 2018-2019.........................................................................................6
Strengths and weakness of the programs.....................................................................................8
Strengths..................................................................................................................................9
Weakness.................................................................................................................................9
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Community Development/Engagement Strategy.......................10
Measuring the effectiveness of community development.........................................................10
Structure for evaluating the effectiveness..................................................................................10
Resources to evaluate the effectiveness of this community strategy.........................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Canada is known as one of the most harmonious and peaceful countries in the world.
According to a global survey report, Canada obtained a place under the 10 most peaceful
countries in the world (IEP, 2019). Though the country is known for the most peaceful and
harmonious living environment, yet social, environmental, economic, political and global
changes in the country are leading crime in the country.
According to a Police report, there is a significantly increment in the crime rate in the
country as the Crime severity index has been increased four times in the country in 2018.
Major crimes in the country has been reported as fraud 13%, sexual assault 15% and
theft and robbery cases are 15% in the year 2018 (Moreau, 2019). Small cities of the country
are significantly more sensitive to the crime rate.
The root causes of the crime in the country are considered as economic factors (poverty),
Social Environment, and Family Structures. This study focuses on how the social issues
specifically poverty leads, illiteracy or lower quality education, lack of employment, and poor
living that outcome as the increasing rate of crimes in the downtown Vancouver, in Canada.
Community development and people's productive engagement enhance the economic and social
status of the people and diminish the crime rate in the country. Here, the research studies identify
the root causes of crime as poverty and the relationship of community development and
engagement in poverty with the crime rate in downtown Vancouver.

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Analysis and Integration
Poverty and crime
It is considered that in a country like Canada, all people have equal chances to grab
opportunities, but in reality, the scenario is different. People or children born in poor family or
low-income cut-off measure LICO families, limit themselves with absence of opportunities like
lack of education or quality education in form of difficulty to school or dropping out from
schools, hunger, homelessness, delayed development in motor skills and disabilities, lower level
of parental involvement or signal parent create risk on their lives as exposure to sexually
transmitted infections, exposure for sexual abuse, Mental health problems and victim of violence
at homes or in community. According to John Howard's report, people who experienced sexual
assault or lower living level in their childhood are more like to participate in crime criminal
justice processes in their adulthood (JHSO , 2019).
Another study gives the impression of a strong relationship between social-economic
factors and crime. The study reveals that unemployment, underemployment, and unskilled job
leads poverty in people that result in low morality of people and they become more likely to
involve in serious criminal offenses like assault, robbery, theft, and homicide (Kitchen, 2019).
Poverty and crime are always subject to debate, but research revealed that more than 70% of
prisoners in the country have not completed high school, 70% of prisoners had faced
unemployment or unstable job history, and four out of five prisoners have been abused. Thus
these figures are sufficient to understand the relationship or correlation between poverty and
crime (Segal, 2011).

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Strain theory
This theory states that socially aspects force an individual to commit a crime. The theory
is introduced by Robert K. Merton, in1938. This theory advocates that various social factors like
poverty, lack of income, unemployment, absenteeism of quality education are drive forces to
commit a crime to an individual. These theory state that poverty, lack of education poor lifestyle
in a person leads negative emotion of a person like frustration, and anger and create a spirit of
revenge to escape the current condition, which leads towards crime or criminology to a person
(Agnew & Scheuerman, 2015).
People or local communities of Vancouver city are experiencing these driven forces of
crime like lack of education, lower-income, or unemployment which leading a significantly
higher crime rate in the city.
Community Development and Engagement
United way's study shows that in the city Vancouver, more than 100000 people are living
as poor or LICO, though most of them have employment but living a poor life due to lower
employment and other social-economic issues. Vancouver is the second-largest metro city of
Canada, has people who working but living poor or not getting sufficient earning. Thus working
poverty in Vancouver is a growing challenge for the country. Besides this, downtown Vancouver
is notorious for drug addiction of people, poverty, homelessness, which impact the rise in the
crime. So it is important to identify the community development in the Vancouver city of the
country, to escape poverty and a decrease in the crime rate (William , 2019).
Community development is the process of generating solutions to community issues or
problems by all community members putting efforts collectively. Community development
works grassroots levels to enhancement towards the wellbeing of people in terms of economic,

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social and cultural improvement. Community development improves sustainable development
and equal economic opportunities and social justice for all. Community development includes
developing a healthy lifestyle, empowering the people of the community, by developing
economic and employment opportunities (Green, 2016). To eliminate poverty, it is important to
engage the community to find the solution to prevent poverty and improve the contribution to
community development. In the city Vancouver, economic development department (CED) and
the local community are collectively working to improve the economic equality and lifestyle of
the people. There are various programs running to growing economic equality in Vancouver like
'equality, diversity and inclusion’, ‘Community economic development strategy’, ‘Childcare’
and ‘celebration and observations', etc. (Vancouver Website, 2019).
These community development and engagement programs attack the root causes of
poverty e.g. inappropriate employment, absenteeism of education, lower morale in children, and
unemployment. Community development programs help to people and provide them
opportunities for increment in income support, housing, employment, education, and childcare.
Community Development/Engagement Strategy for Social Issue
Community Organizations
There are various organizations, local committees and the central government of the
country is working for community development and people engagement to reduce the crime rate
by developing social standard and poverty reduction in the country. For the assessment target
accomplishment of community development programs, each committee and organization has to
submit an annual report to the council in the end of the year. Some of these committees, and
organizations has been evaluated in this study.

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Poverty Reduction Advisory Committee
The Poverty Reduction Advisory Committee introduced in March 2019 to work
independently and as a government advisory organization on policy formation on the poverty
reduction and prevention in the country. This organization helps to Canada government to
develop legislation on the poverty reduction strategies. This organization has 13 members from
various fields like advocates, stakeholders and the people who are experienced poverty living
(Govt.of Canada, 2019).
Poverty Reduction Plan 2018-2019
This is a most powerful plan working towards community development and engagement in
Vancouver city. This program is working with various key partners to developing and
implementing the initiatives to improve equality and quality of living of people of Vancouver
city. Under the poverty reduction plan, many strategies are working like, The Healthy City
Strategy, Food strategy, Community economic development strategy, Van play, Social
infrastructure plan, Resilient City, and local area plans across Vancouver for the wellbeing of
residents of Vancouver (Hayes, 2017).
This committee organizes its targets into various phases. In the first phase (2017-2018) of
the committee organized a listening session and understand the community's requirements,
problems, and issues facing by the community. The aim of this session is identify the solutions to
the social issues facing by the community and providing recommendations to improve equality,
safety, economic development and accessibility of the resources for the people they are living in
poverty. After understanding the needs and requirements of the community, various strategies
and programs have been developed for poverty reduction in the community (Hammond, 2018).

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Poverty Action Advisory Committee
The poverty action advisory committee has been initiated in April 2018 with around 40
community organizations and people who are living in poverty. The central aim of the PAAC is
engaging people in employment to reduce poverty. The PAAC emphasizes on recommendations
to under the poverty reduction strategy. The PAAC strongly stress on the maintaining right
approach to providing houses to people, accessibility of quality education regardless all
discrimination, working with government organization to create funding sources or increasing
government’s involvement, increasing technology access, providing child care action and liking
local plans to federal poverty reduction strategies (Poverty Reduction Plan org., 2019).
Community Action Network (CAN)
This program running with city funding and community support, CAN provides an
opportunity for personal development and employment capacity building of people who live in
poverty. The aims of the CAN are improving the involvement of individuals in anti-poverty acts,
developing of poverty eliminating plans and policy development which impact on living of
individuals. CAN also help to train and empower the people by providing education and peer
support (Poverty Reduction Plan org., 2019).
Urban Indigenous Engagement: MVAEC Partnership Approach
This agency works with the collaboration and support of the local community and urban
Indigenous agencies. MVAEC creates employment for the local community of Vancouver.
MVAEC works on a poverty-based and deficit-based approach to create equality and imparts
economic wellbeing in the local community of Vancouver (Poverty Reduction Plan org., 2019).
To community development and engagement strategies, various strategies of Poverty
Reduction Plan 2018-2019 have a significant impact on poverty reduction and improvement in

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the quality living of local people of Vancouver city. This plan has been working to identify the
root causes of poverty in the city and effectively working towards eliminating these root causes
like unemployment, lower quality of education, health issues, etc. under the various strategies of
the plan like Community Action Network (CAN), Poverty Action Advisory Committee and
MVAEC Partnership Approach committee effectively worked to overcome the poor condition of
people and opened up new sources of employment, with the association of various urban
organizations and agency. This program helps to provide housing with the support of federal
agencies and creating the accessibility of the resources such as quality education with the
collaboration with various education institution and universities. According to a data gathered in
listing sessions, PAAC has a deep impact on confidence development of people through
providing educational opportunities, and under 'Be Bold' strategy, that is helpful to getting
funding sources like projects and programs.
Apart from funding sources, program created meaningful engagement of the people and
strategically investment. It also has been analyzed in the committee annual report that this
participation of all members and organizations will be continuing in 2020 for the meaningful
engagement of Vancouverites. These strategies are collectively working to provide education,
childcare, amenities, housing, health, and employment to the local community of Vancouver city
and improving economic and social equality in direction to reduce crime rate in the city and
country (CPP investment Board , 2019).
Strengths and weakness of the programs
The Poverty Reduction Plan 2018-2019 impacting on the development of the community
and in the meaningful engagement of the people to poverty reduction and creating equality in

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terms of social and economic parameters to reduce crime rate in the country. In the analysis of
Poverty Reduction Plan 2018-2019, some weaknesses and strengths have been identified.
Strengths
Under this plan some strategies have been developed to address various causes of poverty
like developing education, creating employment and health assurance. The main aim of the plan
is attacking the root causes of poverty to get positive outcomes. The program has a positive
participation of all members. The program is working with the collaboration of government
agency, local organizations and residents of Vancouver city. This collaboration of these members
has a positive impact on the efficiency of the plan. Poverty Reduction Plan 2018-2019 in
Vancouver is more effective as earlier Poverty Reduction plan of Vancouver
Weakness
Although the program is effectively working toward community development and
engagement, however, is have some limitations or weaknesses to reach the targets. As discussed
that various strategies have been developed under this program to attain the targeted results,
however, it is difficult to monitor these strategies and outcomes.
It is difficult to involving the community people in community development programs
when most of the people not willing to work and experiencing mental disorders. It is also notable
that when people are living in poverty their concern is getting bread and shelter rather than
personal development, thus it is difficult to get positive participation of all members. Funding is
also a big issue for the success of the plan. It is difficult for the committee to work with limited
funding sources and providing opportunities for employment and quality education.

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Evaluating the Effectiveness of Community Development/Engagement Strategy
To measure the accomplishment of the programs of community development, committees
and organizations have to submit an annual report to the national council. According to annual
report of poverty reduction plan 2018, it has been identified that poverty reduction plan is very
effective to achieve the targets towards poverty reduction.
Measuring the effectiveness of community development
To measure the effectiveness of the implanted programs for community development,
analysis of the employment opportunities for the people, health and housing facilities and
increment in the economic status of the people is helpful. Government research data is also
available to measure the crime rate, employment, education, poverty in the city.
To measure the effectiveness of the program, it is important to analyze the targets of the
strategy and identified the need of the programs and its impact on them (WHO , 2011). The
objective of Poverty Reduction Plan 2018 is poverty reduction in downtown Vancouver to the
decreases crime rate in the city. Thus, police data about the crime, people's engagement rate in
employment and higher education institutions will be helpful to measure the effectiveness of the
program.
Structure for evaluating the effectiveness
In Vancouver city, it is important to measure the effectiveness of the program which is
working for community development and engagement to reduce poverty which is identified as
the root cause of increasing crime rate in the city. To measure the effectiveness of the programs,
the federal council has a committee to look over these programs throughout the country and
follows various steps to analyze the annual progress of the program.