Best Practices

An effective and proven strategy of nonconfrontation

INITIAL DRAFT FOR CONSIDERATION

BEST PRACTICES GUIDE FOR ADVOCACY & COMMUNITY SAFETY.

This guide can be used effectively by anyone to advocate for any issue.

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1) Law Enforcement

Formulate your plan to ensure a lawful and peaceful assembly, protest, rally or other event.

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Be aware of pertinent laws that accommodate a positive and productive event.

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When seeking to achieve a goal, make the objective the priority and not get distracted by confrontation.

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What is the ultimate goal? What are the steps to be taken to realize that goal, and how does this event serve to achieve the ultimate objective?

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Once your plan is in hand, share or forward the plan to law enforcement for advice and comment on the feasibility and thoroughness of the planning to hold a successful, lawful and peaceable event.

Law Enforcement will respond with comments and either green light your plan as is or make appropriate recommendations for change as they see fit or deem necessary to ensure the community and the participants are safe and everyone returns home as they should.

2) Media

Draft a formal press release from a third-party perspective.

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Just as if you were a journalist making a factual accounting of events.

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The press release should be free of any rhetoric, foul language, name-calling or any other negative reference that would distract from the message and the event's objective.

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The press release should start with the most essential information and as the press release unfolds, it should read from the most critical to the least important information.

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This format provides the news editor with the opportunity to decide where the press release should end, how much of the press release they will agree to print or release to the public and regardless of where the press release is cut short if at all, all of the primary information is included because you structured it from most essential details to the least important to more information.

The press release must be fair and balanced.

Fair and balanced means being critical of one's actions.

Are you meaning what does the opposition to your efforts say, and how are those concerns best addressed with facts in an accurate context?

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Often, it's the facts that get presented out of context that create an unnecessary problem, so being fair and balanced enables the points to be read, heard and understood within an honest and contextual frame or setting.

3) Mayor and three levels of government

Once your plan is ready and the press release issued, contact your three levels of government, starting with the mayor and city council.

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The purpose of the meeting is to share the "best practices guide" with local government so they understand that community safety is your highest priority.

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As an event organizer or participant, explain how to ensure due diligence in community safety matters.

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Once the local government has been approached, met with and a positive bond established, it's time to duplicate the process again with the MPP and MPP in the area.

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At the meeting, the goal is unity, based on shared community values and intelligent and thoughtful planning, with a theme of nonconfrontation.

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The purpose of this meeting is to present yourself and the group in a calm, considerate and respectful manner that is, in fact, a benefit to the community. A benefit to the community by helping keep everyone safe, whether they be a resident or event participants.

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4) WEBSITE- Should this community safety initiative be endorsed and supported by law enforcement, there will be a corresponding website that's very detail-oriented on the nuts and bolts of the aforementioned steps with email, letter and press release templates used in real life with remarkable success.

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The guide for best practices is a grassroots effort within our communities. Please get in touch with me for further comments.

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Blain McElrea.

705 847 5698

Elliot Lake

blainmcelrea@live.ca

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Thank you for your kind consideration.