Frontline officers now recognize that CR and CP apply the same principles which focus the right resources on the right individuals at the right times.
They see their own role in this initiative which is essential to the success of any policing strategy. Rick Shaw rick. These agencies are directly involved. Most participate on the Youth Intervention and Diversion Committees; some have been approached to provide funding for youth programs; most have participated in RCMP training initiatives so that they are better trained to receive youth referrals; some assist in governance by providing strategic direction to the Officer In Charge; and an academic institute is conducting research and evaluation of the initiative PhD student.
It is based on the very best evidence and research available on what actually works to prevent crime and what the role of the police should be in doing so. Most police agencies have people assigned full time to community policing or crime prevention units. This was about educating employees and senior managers about what those resources should be doing in order to have an impact on crime.
We reassigned these resources. As mentioned, the civilian CPOs, who were hired to deliver education and awareness initiatives, are now coordinating the YIDP in their districts. This was more of a cultural shift in how we are attempting to prevent crime. The evidence is very clear in that we are more likely to prevent crime by focusing our crime prevention resources on those who are most likely to go on to become serious or habitual offenders—moderate- to high-risk youth.
Low-risk or no-risk youth are far less likely to go on to become offenders, habitual or otherwise, so having officers spend the majority of their time in classrooms was more of a public relations effort than a crime prevention one.
But that funding was not essential to the success of the initiative. One thing I would add here is that we were very fortunate to have civilian personnel in place already who had a crime prevention mandate. A CPO costs far less than a police officer, but they never get distracted from their crime prevention mandate—unlike uniformed officers.
All we had to do was re-focus these personnel to where the evidence was telling us they could have an impact on crime—moderate-risk youth. The Officer in Charge OIC first articulated a vision, guiding principles and strategic priorities, which were communicated at every opportunity to obtain buy-in amongst senior leaders and middle managers.
Training was provided to CPOs, who began implementing the initiative in their respective districts with the assistance of the division unit an OIC, a Sgt and a civilian member. CPOs were trained as trainers in the major components of this plan i.
An implementation evaluation 18 months into the initiative provided some key lessons learned and gave direction to improve the model. All 12 districts are engaged. The initiative now measures how many youth are being referred to the YIDP averaging per month and how many are subsequently being referred to community services averaging 75 per month.
We track how many screening tools and assessments are completed, the number of Section 19 youth conferences held, warnings, cautions, etc. We will next begin to measure how many youth follow through on referrals. These outcomes, we expect, are the lead measures in an eventual reduction in risk factors based on follow-up assessments amongst the youth involved. This, in turn, we anticipate, will lead to a reduction in youth crime and hopefully a reduction in youth incarceration rates.
This is all supported by the RNR theory. The number of referrals to the program helps assess the engagement level of our frontline police officers. Referrals to community services at the outset were almost nil, thus an average of 75 per month is a huge step forward. Senior managers now use the language of crime prevention and crime reduction interchangeably.
A cultural shift has occurred and crime prevention is no longer seen as the responsibility of someone down the hall. Youth Intervention and Diversion is now one of the major components of our crime reduction strategy.
By conducting scientifically validated criminogenic screening and assessment, we can be more certain that the referrals to community services are meaningful. This ensures proper use of resources. We have moved away from some very costly and largely ineffective school-based education and awareness programs, thus making better use of police resources.
Provincial Public Safety Corrections reports there has been a substantial reduction in the number of youth files being referred to Alternative Measures Extrajudicial Sanctions. The numbers are very promising. This reduces the number of youth who have a court record. Evidence shows youth with a court record are far more likely to be charged, thus we have reduced unnecessary criminalization of youth.
In addition, the RCMP has used its influence to obtain funding to build additional skill and capacity amongst community and government service providers to better enable them to deliver evidence-based interventions for youth.
The aforementioned DOJ funding was used, in part, to provide specific skills to service providers such as motivational interviewing training, mental health training, intervention for youth who misuse drugs and alcohol, etc. All of the training we do is integrated—police, government employees and community learning side-by-side. We are using police leadership to build community capacity. Preliminary discussions have taken place regarding funding allocation where we have attempted to influence public spending based on evidence that shows some programs are providing a better service than others.
These are not decisions we control, but we will continue to try and influence in this area. Crime reduction rates and youth recidivism rates will be part of the longer-term evaluation of this program. The program, which launched this week, will provide "much needed" counselling to young people who find themselves in conflict with the law, police told reporters.
The option will be primarily available for those about to be charged with minor offences such as theft. Through the program, police officers will identify young people who may need extra guidance and will direct them to community agencies that will provide them with support. It has already had eight referrals to agencies. Toronto Police Service Chief Mark Saunders said the program could turn around a young person's life and "break the cycle" of criminal behaviour. Particularly in the area of less serious offences, it may be more effective to divert a young person away from the traditional means of prosecution.
Paul Wheeler, a Toronto region director at Ontario's ministry of children and youth services, said the ministry helped develop the program, which he called "important. To date, youth have been screened using the validated screening tool. About youth are now referred to the program each month, of which about 75 are referred on to community services. The RCMP expects to see an eventual reduction in risk factors, which in turn will lead to a reduction in youth crime and incarceration.
A program evaluation is planned. Based on the success of this program, the division has moved away from costly and largely ineffective school-based education and awareness programs.
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