Recent trends in crime prevention and community safety in Slovenia have been characterized by the influence of ideas of crime prevention in western societies, especially with the idea of making community responsible and local administration involved in setting priorities in communities' safety/security efforts and the prevention of everyday criminal offenses. Local safety and security councils are part of the community-oriented policing strategy in Slovenia. They are situated as a consultative body in crime and safety matters. This study examined the establishment, development, and activities of safety councils which operate in an ambiguous legal framework. The study concentrated on 11 Slovenian cities with a sample of 178 representatives of local safety councils. Due to the problems of centralized local institutions and consequently of the financing of activities on the local level, planned, systematic, and coordinated common crime prevention and efforts for local safety or security councils are still at an early stage. The results imply that the role of local municipalities in the field of crime prevention and local safety has not yet been clearly defined. There needs to be the establishment of more clear rules or legal framework, financing, and accountability. Tables, references