What is Community Risk Reduction (CRR) and how does it help make our community safer?
Per Vision 20/20.
Community Risk Reduction (CRR) is a process to identify and prioritize local risks, followed by the integrated and strategic investment of resources (emergency response and prevention) to reduce their occurrence and impact.
Six Steps of the CRR Planning Process
- Identify Risks
- Prioritize Risks
- Develop Strategies & Tactics to Mitigate Risks
- Prepare the Community Risk Reduction Plan
- Implement the Community Risk Reduction Plan
- Monitor, Evaluate, & Modify CRR Plan
Identification & Prioritization
Once the assessment has been completed and the various community risks identified and the priorities determined, the results should all have been documented for use in the remaining planning process. Such a document does not necessarily need to be complicated, but in a clear and concise format that enables the reader to understand the risks and those that should have the highest priority.
Develop Mitigation Strategies & Tactics
This part of the process requires brainstorming with a variety of individuals involved, including those most affected by the risk. Essentially, it will require difficult decisions to determine what tactics and strategies will be necessary to prevent and/or mitigate those risks with the highest priority.
Prepare the CRR Plan
Once the risks have been identified and prioritized, and strategies and tactics determined for prevention and mitigation, it will be necessary to develop a written plan. Ideally, the plan will consist of a several elements (discussed in detail later), but it need not be complicated if resources are limited.
Implement the CRR Plan
Implementing the plan usually involves several steps. The process should include timelines, which can be quick and focused or slow and methodical. Plan implementation may rely on the fire department, community partners or a combination of both.
Monitor, Evaluate & Modify the CRR Plan
The final step in the process involves monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the plan, and making adjustments as necessary. This enables the organization to determine if they are achieving their desired goals and/or if the plan is or is not having an impact. Ongoing monitoring allows for plan modifications in a timely manner.
5 E's of Community Risk Reduction
Education
Education can influence behavior by increasing awareness, and providing information and knowledge with the intention of producing a desired behavior. Education is only effective if individuals apply this knowledge appropriately. Examples of educational interventions include:
- School curricula
- Fire station tours
- Flyers and/or brochures
- Traditional advertisements/articles
- Lectures and slide presentations
- Assorted media (TV, social media)
- Door-to-door ; home visits
- Websites (content and web tools)
Engineering
Engineering applies to changes in the physical environment. Modifying a product or environment to prevent or mitigate injury, death, or destruction of property is an engineering tactic. Changes are often the result of advances in technology. Examples may include:
- Fire sprinklers
- Automobile air bags
- Helmets (bicycle & sport)
- Double-wall chimney flues
- Child car seats
- Fire sprinkler systems
- Smoke alarms
- Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)
Enforcement
Enforcement applies to reducing risks (hazards) through the legislative process of strengthening and adoption of applicable laws. This includes enforcing those laws through various inspection programs or methods, and, in some cases, imposing penalties for non-compliance. Examples of enforcement are fire and life-safety codes; requirements for fire sprinklers; and mandatory smoke alarm installation.
Economic Incentives
Economic incentives are offered to encourage or influence individuals and organizations to make certain choices or behave in specific ways. Incentives can influence behavior either negatively or positively. Negative economic incentives result in monetary punishment for “inappropriate” behavior or making certain choices. Fines, citations, and tickets are examples of negative incentives intended to discourage people from choosing unsafe behaviors.
Positive economic incentives reward people for behaving in a certain manner or making certain choices. Free smoke alarms are one example. Sales, coupons, and discounts are examples used to persuade people to do business. In one U.S. community, local government uses positive incentives by offering a one-time reduction in property taxes for retrofitting a home with a fire sprinkler system.
Emergency Response
Fire departments, EMS providers, and law enforcement agencies apply their emergency response capabilities to mitigate risk. A community’s ability to provide adequate emergency services must be considered when developing a CRR plan. Simply, some risks can only be mitigated by enhancing current capabilities, or by adding new emergency response resources.
An effective emergency response can mitigate sudden injury and illness, save lives, and reduce or prevent property loss. An effective emergency response system will have sufficient personnel; sufficient equipment; adequate response times; and trained responders, to name a few. Scientific evidence indicates if fire department resources are deployed to match the risk levels, the community becomes less vulnerable to firefighter and civilian injuries and deaths, and property loss.