Ballarat ranked fifth-lowest in perceived public safety, compared to the 22 largest cities in Australia with only 46.5 per cent of adults claiming they feel safe, according to a new federal government cities comparison released this month. This was a clear lower confidence than neighbouring regional cities Geelong (56.4 per cent feel safe) and Bendigo (49.5).

Ballarat Police Inspector Dan Davison said community leaders had to work together with the community to ensure Ballarat was a safe place to live.

City of Ballarat’s Community Safety Advisory Committee launched pilot project Right to the Night on Wednesday, urging women to pinpoint in real time how safe they feel, and where, to help drive for safer Ballarat streets.

The app-based program, developed by Monash University, is adapted from a similar initiative used in Melbourne.

Inspector Davison said it should prove a pivotal tool, collecting real time information, to add perspectives on how young women felt.

“...I really want to hear from the community,” Inspector Davison said. “Some police members have got views on where they patrol but it’s the community that’s going to be able to inform me better about what the issues are and then we can work out how we’re going to address those specifically.”

Right to the Night will allow women to place markers on a map of central Ballarat of places that make them feel safe or unsafe from March to May. Comments and photos are encouraged to add context. The aim is to offer young women a platform to speak up directly to public planners and advocate for safer, more inclusive spaces.

Ballarat mayor Samantha McIntosh said tools like this could help to really understand wide-reaching issues. 

“It’s important for us as a council to know how young people feel and, we can know as a council we have access to the right information and current information in making decisions,” Cr McIntosh said. “We do need to be looking at these issues from different angles.”

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