Here’s something we would say fits solidly in the ‘Smart on Crime” camp. Today, the Waterloo Region Record reports on the announcement of a drug treatment court for the Waterloo Region and area.
The justice systems (police, corrections, courts) have long identified drug and alcohol addiction, along with mental health issues, to be at the root of a high percentage of cases ending up in the criminal justice system. Most agree the justice system is not the best place, or most cost effective, to treat a drug or alcohol addition. In fact, most cycle through the revolving door as the root cause of the issue is never addressed.
Alternative approaches, such as drug treatment courts, are some success in getting to the roots of addition, criminal activity and incarceration for some individuals… and breaking the cycle of crime.
Update: On Thursday February 17, The Current, a program on CBC radio, interviewed the Calgary Chief of Police, Rick Hanson, about his plans for developing more effective ways to deal with additions in the justice system. The interview is well worth a listen – great food for thought!
Toronto policeman, Constable Scott Mills, also known as “GraffitiBMXCop” on Twitter, gets creative about graffiti. His idea…? Why not find legal ways for graffiti artists to work. Art, mentoring, positive interactions with police and local business all work to reduce the ‘revolving door’ for many youth.
Constable Mills also maintains a Youtube channel, LegalGraffitiArt, which has more than 300 uploads of legal graffiti projects.
From the Globe and Mail newspaper column “Things that work”
As the theme of Smart on Crime in Waterloo Region began to take shape, we wanted to make sure that this community plan reflected your ideas of what ‘smart on crime’ means. We took to the ‘internet streets’ and asked you to share your ‘smart on crime’ ideas. The challenge was thrown down….
In 7 words or less, we invite you to finish this statement:
“Being Smart on Crime means…”
If you would like to add your ‘Smart on Crime means…’ statement, feel free to add it using the comment box at the bottom of the page.
Here is the growing list of responses we’ve received.
a commitment to preventing crime ~ Bill Davidson, Langs Farm
connecting what’s right with what works
~ Christine Bird, Alliance for Children & Youth of Waterloo Region
best decisions for today and the future identifying and addressing social disparity
investing in PREVENTION, not prisons
~ John Shewchuk, Waterloo Catholic District School Board & WRCPC Chair
community involvement; people don’t victimize an “US” ~ Graham Yeates, 2010 Candidate Kitchener Ward 9
community awareness, active participation = safe city ~ Giselle
commitment to long term investments and approaches engaging communities, identifying needs and developing strategies
~ Chris McEvoy, Kitchener
understanding, connecting and caring for all citizens ~ Julie Hill, Waterloo
making prevention a community priority ~ Susan Cameron, Kitchener
making prevention a priority ~ Jane Mitchell, Regional Councillor, Region of Waterloo
Posted on: December 20th, 2010 by Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Mark Twain popularized the phrase “there are three types of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics”. Now, over 100 years later, the volume of information and the number of statistics we are exposed to has dramatically increased. If we believe an informed public is an important part of a healthy and engaged community, it is important that citizens understand statistical jargon and how statistics can be used to hide what is really taking place in the world.
So here begins our mission: to debunk crime and crime prevention statistics for the rest of us!
“By the Numbers” will take an in depth look at crime statistics and research. It will help us, and a community engaged in crime prevention, to understand and challenge statistics and they way they are used to share and present information, influence and justify policy decisions and explain what’s happening in the world today.
Take for example a newspaper article that discusses a murder rate increase of 25%. This statistic seems alarming. However, if the rate increases to five murders from the previous year of four murders, does the statistic still seem as shocking? This is a classic way to lie with statistics, without actually lying. Presenting percentage changes instead of absolute changes creates a misleading perception. The reverse can also be done. For example, saying that break and enters increased by 75 incidents sounds like a lot. But, if there were 7,500 break and enters in the previous year… an increase of 75 represents only a 1% increase.
I bet you’re intrigued now and can’t wait for more!
“By the Numbers” contributors will include Anthony Piscitelli, Research Supervisor at WRCPC, Jessica Hutchison, Research Analyst at WRCPC and other special guests.
One of my favourite anonymous quotes goes a little like this….. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will probably get you there”. Essentially, without a direction, you can wander around, exploring, and maybe end up in a place you like. Or maybe not.
Within the Region of Waterloo, there has always been a clear community vision, mission and direction about crime prevention being the responsibility of the whole community. Over time, it has yielded both interesting and sobering insights, along with bold and exciting developments in the field of crime prevention through social development. A great deal of leadership, collaboration, research and community development has helped to bring our region to the forefront of crime prevention within Canada.
So what have we been doing since 1994 when this crime prevention council was formed?
From the Archives is a place where we’ll share stories about our successes and failures, our learning, experience and wisdom and community growth over the course of 15 years that has contributed to where we are today. You’ll find notes & quotes, clippings, and of course, plenty of photos!
From time to time, it’s important to look back, reflect on where we’ve come from and understand how it influences what we’ve become and where we’re going. Stay tuned to From the Archives for stories on the evolution of getting to Smart on Crime in Waterloo Region!
There are so many innovative, promising and proven practices in the field of crime prevention through social development – we can learn a great deal by taking into consideration knowledge, experience, research and wisdom from around the world.
The World Wide Wednesday feature on our Smart on Crime blog will point you to links, research, blogs and news from those thinking and acting creatively on crime prevention projects and practice around the world.
We hope you’ll share things that you find too – there’s a lot of knowledge and experience out there to share!
Lunch programs, after-school groups and homework clubs do more than give kids full bellies, friends and better marks.
Years later, they may also keep them from committing crimes and make those children less likely to need costly special education programs.
Those conclusions are among the latest findings of a nearly 20-year-long study that has tracked hundreds of kids from disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Ontario.
The project, Better Beginnings, Better Futures, is a massive undertaking that has involved researchers from universities across the province, including three from Wilfrid Laurier University.
WLU psychology professors Geoff Nelson, Mark Pancer and Colleen Loomis hope the province takes notice of their ongoing project’s latest findings — piling more evidence onto their argument that at-risk children who participate in early prevention programs are more likely to succeed later in life.
“When we first started, we weren’t sure if this kind of approach would work. But the striking thing is we find some pretty significant impacts, not only on the children, but on their families and on whole neighbourhoods,” Pancer said.
At the time, it was a four-year program that spanned junior kindergarten to Grade 2, and gave children things like in-school help, nutrition and behavioural programs. Their parents and neighbourhoods got to choose what was offered, hired staff, and received programs ranging from job search help, parenting and language training.
In the latest findings, children in three participating neighbourhoods — Cornwall, west-end Toronto and Sudbury — were compared with kids from two communities with similar economic conditions and characteristics who did not go through the program.
The result? Years later, the kids who went through the Better Beginnings programs were less likely to commit property crime, more likely to have success in school and socially, and had better-functioning families. They had fewer emotional and behavioural problems, too.
The program also saved governments money on things like special education programs, child welfare and youth court expenses, Pancer said. Later on, he expects those savings will grow, as the participating kids stay out of the welfare system and criminal careers.
At a cost of about $1,000 per child, that’s money well spent, the researchers say, considering it costs over $100,000 a year to incarcerate a person in Canada.
“It just makes economic sense,” Pancer said. “We’re already seeing significant financial savings.”
The findings come as no surprise to people who work closely with young children.
The school system, they say, has long played a large role in determining success later in life, including crime prevention. They say a struggling child who never gets help in those early years has a much greater chance of having a troubled life later on.
“The earlier you can intervene and spot the difficulties students are having, the better off they’ll be down the road. You’ll have people who are better equipped to survive in today’s world,” said John Shewchuk, chair of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council and spokesperson for the local Catholic school board.
“There are many, many thousands sitting in prison right now because those kind of early intervention programs were never there for them when they needed them.”
But it’s not just schools that have a role, Pancer said. Community-based programs like those offered by the Lang’s Farm Village Association can also make the kind of differences the Better Beginnings projects illustrates.
Bill Davidson, Lang’s Farm executive director, said this kind of study is important because it proves claims long made by childhood programs — from recreational to social — that say they set kids up for better lives, he said.
He’d like to see the Better Beginnings program expanded across the province.
“It’s making the kind of difference that it should,” he said. “But I think most countries are slow to adapt to this kind of thinking. Part of the problem is we haven’t had the evidence, prior to now, to demonstrate that.”
Advocates say expanding Better Beginnings into Waterloo Region wouldn’t be that difficult. It could be added to programs already in place here to make a more comprehensive approach to early childhood prevention, said Natalie Brown, co-ordinator of the Alliance for Children and Youth of Waterloo Region.
From the Waterloo Region Record, Thursday December 2, 2010
gmercer@therecord.com
Judge Jimmie Edwards of St. Louis, Missouri delivers this Tedx talk, tying together smart on crime, youth and chess. His accompanying slide presentation can be found here.
Preventing crime at the roots… with education. Awesome.
At the time, it was a four-year program that spanned junior kindergarten to Grade 2, and gave children things like in-school help, nutrition and behavioural programs. Their parents and neighbourhoods got to choose what was offered, hired staff, and received programs ranging from job search help, parenting and language training.