Annual Conference

The Atlantic Community Safety Association (ACSA) traces its roots to 1984 when the first “Crime Prevention Meeting” was held in Halifax. Over the years, the “Ad Hoc Committee”, the “Atlantic Crime Prevention Steering Committee”, the “Atlantic Coordinating Committee on Crime Prevention and Community Safety” (ACSA), and finally The Atlantic Community Safety Association (ACSA) have gone through major metamorphoses. One constant was the value that was placed on sharing knowledge about crime prevention among Atlantic Canadians. The first conference was a result of this lack of communications and information sharing among Atlantic Canadian crime prevention practitioners. The Solicitor General responded by organizing and presenting a workshop to address these issues. This laid a solid foundation for the ACSA leadership in the crime prevention movement in years to come. As the years past, it became apparent that community participation was imperative to successful crime prevention, and community citizens, as well as police and government, were included as delegates at the conferences. Conferences were soon structured to include plenary sessions and panel discussions which zeroed in on issues of major concern, and conference enrolment increased significantly. Today, these conferences are an invaluable resource for anyone interested in making Atlantic Canada a safer place to live.