Burnaby asks residents to shape its community safety plan before November 16

Burnaby's 2025-2030 Community Safety and Well-Being Plan is in its second year, and the City wants residents to help shape what comes next. A nine-question survey is open until Monday, November 16, 2026, at yourvoice.burnaby.ca. The City's April 2026 progress report says more than 1,600 residents, businesses and community partners took part in the first round of engagement that shaped the plan.

The survey feeds into a draft update of plan direction scheduled for winter 2027, with a final report due in spring 2027.

What the plan covers

The plan is built around five priorities, each with strategic actions the City, Burnaby RCMP and Burnaby Fire are working toward. Those priorities, as set out in the City's April 2026 progress report, are:

1. Community Safety and Connection - building trust between residents, the City, the RCMP and Burnaby Fire through better communication, neighbourhood programs and data-driven policing outreach.
2. Emergency and Climate Resilience - reducing disaster risk, strengthening emergency preparedness and planning for wildfires, earthquakes and extreme weather.
3. Safer Public Spaces - keeping City facilities, parks, roads and sidewalks secure and accessible.
4. Responsive and Inclusive Services - addressing homelessness, expanding services for Indigenous residents and embedding anti-racism approaches into safety decisions.
5. Youth and Family Well-Being - creating opportunities for youth through recreation, mentorship and programs that prevent violence and exploitation.

Seventeen strategic actions sit under those priorities. In 2026, the City's progress report counts 85 initiatives advancing those actions: 58 already underway and 27 new or in the planning and assessment phase.

What is happening on the ground

A new headquarters for Burnaby RCMP. Mayor Mike Hurley writes in the April 2026 progress report that construction of a new Community Safety Building is underway. The building will serve as the new RCMP headquarters, modernizing their facilities to improve service delivery for residents. The report says it is expected to be operational in 2028.

Wildfire detection on Burnaby Mountain. City Council authorized the purchase of a new wildfire detection system for Burnaby Mountain in 2025, the mayor's message says. In 2026, the City is working with SFU's Civic Innovation Lab on a research project that uses real-time data from monitoring stations placed near the urban-wildland boundary, along evacuation routes and near high-consequence areas such as the Trans Mountain Tank Farm. The system uses smoke-detection cameras and ground sensors to spot heat and smoke close to in real time. A full-scale emergency exercise on Burnaby Mountain is planned for 2027.

Drones for fire and missing persons. Burnaby Fire now operates three drones, two of them equipped with thermal imaging technology to detect elevated heat signatures or active fires, the progress report says. Five department members have completed Nav Canada's advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles licensing. The drones are also used for missing person searches.

Block Watch reaching new communities. Staff are expanding Block Watch outreach to newcomer and immigrant communities across the City. The report says they are building relationships with cultural groups, settlement agencies and community leaders to make the program more inclusive. Block Watch connects residents to share information and coordinate with the RCMP and the City on neighbourhood safety.

A public crime map. A Burnaby Crime Map is now available online, tracking five property crime types across the city. The report says the map is updated regularly and allows residents to look up their area, look out for suspicious activity and notify police.

Crime in Burnaby: what the numbers show

Burnaby RCMP publishes quarterly crime statistics. In the second quarter of 2026 (April to June), the RCMP recorded 3,077 property crime incidents, up 2% from the same period in 2025. Total criminal code offences were 3,791, down 1% from the same quarter a year earlier. Shoplifting accounted for 1,355 of the property crime cases, an increase of 16% year over year. Violent crimes totalled 714, down 11%, with robberies at 25, down 29%. The figures come from Burnaby RCMP's Q2 2026 crime statistics report.

The same progress report that covers the safety plan notes residents have told the City they want to feel safe walking in their neighbourhood, want faster responses to reports of break-ins and graffiti, and want clearer information on which City department handles which safety concern.

Emergency preparedness

The City has completed two phases of a project to collect hazard and risk data and assess community vulnerabilities, the progress report says. Phase Three is developing earthquake scenario models specific to Burnaby, focusing on two scenarios: the Cascadia Subduction Earthquake and the Georgia Strait Earthquake. Two community engagement events have already gathered resident feedback on those risk models.

Evacuation toolkits are being developed to improve the City's ability to move people away from danger. The report notes these are designed to account for increased urban density and new provincial land use rules.

Safer streets and spaces

The report lists secure bike lockers installed at multiple City facilities to reduce bicycle theft, including Edmonds Community Centre, Bonsor Recreation Complex, the Bob Prittie Metrotown Library, Christine Sinclair Community Centre, Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre, Kensington Complex and Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. New construction projects, including the Cameron Recreation Centre, Burnaby Lake Recreation Centre and Brentwood Community Centre, are planned to include bike lockers as well.

Solar lighting is being piloted at key park access points to improve safety during evening hours, particularly at select special features in parks.

How to take the survey

Residents can find the nine-question survey at yourvoice.burnaby.ca by visiting the "Creating a Safer Community" project page. The survey closes Monday, November 16, 2026. All responses are kept confidential and de-identified when shared publicly, under BC's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

After the survey closes, the City will develop a draft plan direction in winter 2027 and publish a final updated report in spring 2027. Residents can follow how the elected council votes on safety-related decisions at the Burnaby promise tracker.