Sask. program helping youth in high-crime communities stay on right side of the law

A pilot program in a high-crime area of northeast Saskatchewan is helping to prevent young people with violent tendencies from breaking the law.

The Northeast Youth Violence Reduction Partnership operates across three communities: Pelican Narrows, Sandy Bay and Deschambault Lake. All three communities are between 370 and 470 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.

The program was launched in 2015 as a response to the region's high rates of crime, including violent crime.

Around the same time, seven people were charged in the beating death of a 17-year-old boy in Pelican Narrows.

In January 2018, a Crown prosecutor in the case said there was "a gang war" in that community.

Pelican Narrows, specifically, has trained and employed eight new security officers to patrol the community in an effort to reduce crime.

Truancy levels going down

But the new pilot program is working to support young people who have a high-risk of offending — before they get into trouble with the law.

People who work with the program say it is now starting to show results.

Angie Merasty is the project manager for the Northeast Youth Violence Reduction Partnership.

"We've heard from parents themselves who have said that their children are listening more, they're going to school more, they're not fighting as much," said Merasty.

"They're coping better with their anger."

The program is funded through the National Crime Prevention Centre and supported by various agencies, but is designed to be "owned" by the communities themselves.

Young people can be referred to the program by their own families, teachers or others who believe that providing support could help improve their lives and reduce their risk of committing a crime.

Workers at the NYVRP then make contact with the youth and their family and arrange a meet-and-greet to explain what the program is about.

Program starts by building relationships

Skills training and education, anger management counselling and other mental health supports are among the services provided through the program.

"Once we've established a good relationship with them we're hoping that these young people will share some of the trials and tribulations that they are experiencing in their lives," said Merasty.

"That way our staff are able to help them, gear them towards the resources that they need."

Merasty said they encourage their youth clients to pursue their interests, adding that elders provide land-based learning by teaching the youth to hunt, trap and fish.

Youth have to give consent

She said one of the differences about the program is that it is consent-based. The young people involved have been referred to the program but they are not being court-ordered to participate.

Merasty said the program's proactive approach moves the focus away from law enforcement solutions to reducing crime.

"Having more police officers is not necessarily the answer either but population and statistics state that, you know, we might need more RCMP," she said.

"But is that the answer? That's just maybe one of them. We can't arrest our way out of the situation here."

Shawna Bear is the manager of community partner services for the Ministry of Justice, which oversees the initiative.

She said other regions have questioned why similar programs are not being implemented in their communities.

Other communities showing interest

Bear said the program is a five-year pilot project which could eventually be used as a model in other high-crime areas.

But she said the dynamics of the community would play a role in how successful it would be.

What works in remote communities may not be as successful in an urban centre, she said.

"If we were to just go in and implement the program without doing any kind of community consultation or getting community buy-in and support, it wouldn't have worked because it would have been seen as another government program coming in to deliver services," said Bear.

Another new program is working with habitual violent offenders and people who have trouble following probation conditions to deal with violence and gang-related activities.