Calgary Police Service Crime Prevention & Reduction Continuum

a. Crime Prevention and Education

The Committee was apprised of the following programs which seek to prevent crime and educate children. The aim is to establish a connection between the police officers and the students and to present police work in a positive way:[1] “A safer community exists through the informed choices, empowerment and greater resilience of [its] youth.”[2]

Start Smart Stay Safe

The Start Smart Stay Safe Children and Family Project was developed in partnership with Mount Royal University’s Centre for Child Well-Being, the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District. It is a safety education course for students from kindergarten to grade 12, which “focusses on reducing high-risk behaviors and increasing children’s resiliency through lessons on staying safe, making good decisions, fostering healthy relationships, and promoting pro-social and positive behaviors.”[3] The program is designed to help kids develop a support network and the necessary skills to avoid situations like bullying, gangs or substance abuse.[4] The family component is considered to be a complementary parental program aimed at helping parents understand the curriculum and foster a proactive approach to their child’s social development. The Committee was told that the educational programming supports the work of the teachers as the learning modules are linked to the provincial curriculum. It is a universal model applicable to all cultures.

Calgary Police Service (CPS) officers also explained to the Committee that the program allows them to be meaningfully engaged within the community. In fact, the Committee heard that when moms and dads attend parent-teacher night, they can also meet the class police officer.

The Multi-Agency School Support Team (MASST)

The MASST program was developed in partnership with the Calgary Board of Education, the Calgary Catholic School District and the City of Calgary Community and Neighbourhood Services. The partners work in collaboration with the child in question, his or her parents and with the school to resolve high-risk, problematic behaviours before they escalate or to address an increased risk of victimization. It applies to children from kindergarten to grade 6.

The cases are referred to MASST through the schools. The program aims to increase recreational opportunities for children and to introduce them to positive role models. It also seeks to foster collaboration between the families in question and the police. The program duration is 1 to 2 years. Afterwards, the child can be transitioned to the CPS police cadet program. By way of example, police officers told the Committee that they will often help the parent ensure that their child will continue to participate in the soccer program the child loves so much and also help the parents to obtain the program for the following year. The officers added that they take a practical approach; for instance, if the child needs a bike to get to soccer practice, they will help find a bike for that child. It does have sponsors which help pay for the assistance given to the families. The Committee heard that the Safe Community Initiative Fund was provincial funding given for the MASST pilot project, but that this funding is now gone.

YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre

The Calgary community partners who appeared before the Committee explained how the CPS is dedicated to Calgary’s youth population. As such, the YouthLink Calgary Police Interpretive Centre (the Centre) was described as “an unprecedented leader in youth education and engagement.”[5] It is a museum repository for policing artifacts and exhibits which in turn, are used for learning purposes. At the Centre, kids learn about crime and its consequences. They can visit a replica jail cell and learn about the role of police in society by trying on an official police uniform and investigating a mock crime. The program targets grade 6 students and meets their curriculum-based learning objectives. Topics such as Internet safety and peer pressure are explored in an interactive way, thus providing a springboard for parents and teachers to begin discussions with their children on how to make positive life choices and become responsible citizens. The Centre is open to the public as well as to schools, youth organizations and community groups. The Centre has partnerships with the Calgary Police Foundation, Calgary school boards and major donors such as Enbridge.

Cadet Corps

Children aged 12 to 18 who wish to become police officers or leaders within their community can participate in the CPS Cadet Corps program. It is a five-year program during which the children learn about various issues including conflict resolution, physical fitness and crime scene investigation. It seeks youth from diverse social, economic and cultural backgrounds. One parent, whose daughter is in the cadet program, spoke to the Committee and explained how he believes his daughter is more confident and resilient to social issues affecting youth today as a result of her participation in the program.

Auxiliary Cadets

The CPS Auxiliary Cadets program is designed to bridge the gap between graduates of the cadet program and the CPS recruitment process. Since they are too young to become police officers, the police service invites them to work for the CPS in paid civilian non-unionized positions when they are between 18 and 24 years old. Most participants hope to become members of the CPS. Following their training, they receive continuous mentoring. Their duties focus on non-enforcement type responsibilities which decreases the administrative workload of frontline personnel “while increasing the talent pool of police recruit candidates for future employment.”[6] CPS officers explained to the Committee that the Auxiliary Cadets are the face of the Calgary Police Service at all of its service counters.

b. Crime Reduction, Early Intervention and Treatment

The second component of the CPS continuum of strategies focuses on youth programming for those at risk of becoming, or who are currently involved in criminal activity either as a victim or as an offender.

Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre (CAC)

While in Calgary, the Committee was introduced to the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre (CAC). It is said to be the “first local facility to house all services required by individuals who have been victimized by child abuse.”[7]

Although services currently exist for children and their families affected by child abuse, these services are fragmented and provided independently of each other, in a variety of locations across the city. Accessing help requires families to attend several individual facilities and navigate the network of services available, which tends to re-victimize and traumatize children.

The CAC will eliminate this inefficient system by providing opportunity to co-locate, coordinate and streamline all the services associated with child abuse in one facility.[8]

The CAC was developed as a joint initiative between the CPS, Alberta Health Services, the Calgary and Area Child and Family Services Authority, the Alberta Justice Calgary Crown Prosecutors Office and the Canadian Society for the Investigation of Child Abuse. Services rendered include forensic interviews, medical evaluations and therapeutic interventions.

The interlocutors who appeared before the Committee also gave a detailed account of the work of the Alberta Vulnerable Infant Response Team, a new separately funded program housed in the CAC in an effort to streamline services and help at-risk families with babies. More precisely, the team, made up of one full-time Calgary police officer, social workers and nurses, focuses on newborns and infants up to three months of age. It receives referrals from doctors, nurses, dentists and school boards. The team is proactive and is able to respond very quickly. Each day, they triage the files brought to the attention of the agencies in order to react in a timely manner and with a plan. It was described as providing seamless service due to the fact that there is a doctor on site to conduct examinations rather than team members having to bring children to the emergency room and wait for hours.

In this same realm of early intervention and crime reduction initiatives, the About Face and Gateway programs are diversion programs for youths who have been in conflict with authority figures such as the police, teachers and parents, or who have been charged with a criminal act for the first time.

Serious Habitual Offender Program (SHOP)

Young people aged 12 to 24 who are prolific, chronic offenders and at high risk of re-offending may qualify for the SHOP program. It is geared towards intensive community supervision and reintegration strategies. These strategies target the factors that led to the youth’s criminality. Supporting agencies such as probation services and social services seek to rehabilitate the individual.

Youth at Risk Development Program (YARD)

The YARD program is described as a wrap-around service geared towards the prevention and early intervention of youths aged 10 to 17, who have been identified as being particularly at risk of becoming involved or are already involved in gang activity. It was explained to the Committee that Calgary had a problem with public gang-related shootings and that the program is a spin-off of Calgary’s Gang Strategy. Referrals are received by the entire community. Two YARD teams, consisting of a police officer and a social worker, manage a caseload of about 50 youths. The teams utilize community-based support services with a view to extracting the youths from the gang.

The Committee had the opportunity to meet with a graduate of the program. He explained how the YARD program had a positive impact on himself and his family. The Committee heard that participation in the YARD program is voluntary, but the consent of a parent is required. The program aims to strengthen what the youth is already interested in or good at. Tutors are provided by St. Mary’s University College. It operates on a cost-sharing agreement with probation services and the University. Half of all referrals come from probation services. Referrals can also come from schools. Funding was originally provided by the National Crime Prevention Centre but it is now funded by the Province of Alberta through the Justice and Attorney General Civil Forfeiture Fund.[9]

Police and Crisis Teams

The Police and Crisis Teams (PACT) seek to address street level crime, social disorder and homelessness:

The CPS has determined that much of the low-level property crime like car prowlings, break and enters, theft and social disorder, including aggressive panhandling, is being committed by individuals with substance abuse addictions who are trying to support their habit by committing crimes. Often, these individuals are mentally ill, self-medicating through alcohol or drug use. By not treating their underlying conditions, these individuals frequently become chronic, public nuisance offenders, regularly processed through the criminal justice system and hospital emergency rooms.[10]

There are five PACT teams which consist of a police officer and a mental health clinician from Alberta Health Services. They go out on the streets and identify individuals who would be in need of support and assistance from community-based services. PACT operates seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. The PACT team also helps to enforce community treatment orders, and monitor and assist individuals who need help taking their medication. The PACT team will also take on the role of liaison between the community and the hospital. Referrals are given by fellow members of the CPS, shelters and other community services. The Committee heard that the Calgary Homeless Foundation gave funding to two community organizations for one full year to house and case manage 50–60 PACT homeless clients.[11]

c. Enforcement

The CPS “considers enforcement and incarceration to be the last recourse when addressing offences committed by young adults who abuse alcohol/drugs or suffer from an undiagnosed mental illness. Rather than taking a purely punitive approach, the [CPS] has identified opportunities to provide treatment to these individuals.”[12]

Safe Community Opportunity Resource Centre (SORCe)

The Committee was introduced to the Safe Communities Opportunity and Resource Centre (SORCe) which operates as a type of HUB. Community-based organizations work together to leverage existing resources in support of vulnerable people. It was explained to the Committee that the SORCe is centrally located, in a high-profile area where homelessness is an issue. It is accessible to both youths and adults, who may have mental health and addiction issues, are homeless or at risk of being homeless, are in socio-economic need, or have had a disproportionate amount of interactions with the justice and or health system. The goal is to connect these individuals to the appropriate treatment and support services. Addiction nurses are on site. An officer can offer pre-charge diversion to SORCe clients. The numerous partners include the Calgary Public Library, which offers employment training, and Immigrant Services Calgary. The SORCe will accept referrals from both the police and self-referrals. As with other HUB type models, the SORCe is based on the approach that existing silos amongst agencies must be broken down. The SORCe seeks to create efficiencies, as only one database assessment is performed rather than several different agencies doing their own individual assessments.