Napier beat out 82 entries from cities worldwide to win the 2016 World Health Organisation Western Pacific Regional Office Healthy Cities Recognition for Violence and Injury Prevention.
Napier beat out 82 entries from cities worldwide to win the 2016 World Health Organisation Western Pacific Regional Office Healthy Cities Recognition for Violence and Injury Prevention.
Napier has beaten 82 entries from cities worldwide to be recognised as a leading safe city.
Napier has won 2016 World Health Organisation Western Pacific Regional Office Healthy Cities Recognition for Violence and Injury Prevention.
Ambassador and Mayor Bill Dalton said it was another part of the excellence Safer Napier had been striving for.
"It was well-deserved and we are determined to keep making Napier a more desirable and safer place to live."
While the Napier City Council was asked to apply by Safe Communities Foundation New Zealand, community strategies manager Natasha Carswell said she was surprised and delighted to learn yesterday of the win.
"This is recognition of the massive amount of work that everyone from our 43 organisations and agencies is doing to promote safety in Napier," she said.
The win came from a 10-year multi-agency approach which prioritised safety in Napier, led by Mr Dalton as the ambassador.
To be eligible, Safer Napier demonstrated leadership and collaboration in the fields of crime prevention, road safety and reducing alcohol-related harm.
The programme tracked progress against an evaluation framework set by the foundation.
Some of the initiatives included a campaign on alcohol-related harm and the Safe As Houses programme.
This saw seven streets in Napier benefit from home visits to help encourage crime prevention, neighbourliness, injury prevention and Civil Defence preparedness.
"Unfortunately bad things still happen in all cities and every community, but we believe that every one of us must take on the responsibility of contributing to a safer environment," said Ms Carswell.
Napier Mayor Bill Dalton, with Napier City as his backdrop. Photo / Paul Taylor
Mr Dalton said it would be an ongoing and progressive framework, as they continued to find ways to make Napier a better place to live.
The awards were held in Wonju City, Republic of Korea, and the winner's plaque will be sent on to Safer Napier in due course.
The full list of recipients for 2016 will be posted on the WPRO and Alliance for Healthy Cities websites.
