POLICE OFFICERS AWARDED FOR DEALING WITH YOUTH CRIME

ST· JOHN’S , August 21, 2006 – The Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, yesterday announced this year’s winner of the seventh annual Minister of Justice National Youth Justice Policing Award.

”I am proud to honour these police officers who are striving to help youth to make the right choices and stand firmly against factors that may lead them down the wrong path ,” said Minister Toews. “ These officers are providing hope and opportunity for our youth to end the cycle of violence .”

The award was presented by the Minister at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) being held in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

This year’s award winners are members of the RCMP Hopedale detachment: Sergeant Jim McEntegart, Constable Sandy Goudie, Constable Geoff Pittman, Constable Gavin Moore and Clara Winters. They are being honoured f or their work with community justice forums in an Inuit community in northern Labrador. The forums offer a culturally relevant setting in which the offender, victims and supporters are brought together to agree on an appropriate response to offences committed by youth. Community justice forums contribute to the community by promoting important values – such as accountability, cooperation, responsibility and teamwork – and by helping to respond to youth in conflict with the law.

In addition, a certificate of distinctio n was awarded to Sergeant Robert Thirkill and Constable Grant Dokis of the Greater Sudbury Police Service for their work on an aboriginal strategy that provides a referral service to youth in the early stages of conflict with the law and a police mentoring program . Honourable mentions went to Constable Terri Lynn Hazell for her work with the York Regional Police Strategic Approach to Youth Services Program and to Constable J. D. McKinnon of the Halifax Regional Police for his work as a community response officer .

The award is sponsored by the Department of Justice in collaboration with the CACP. Among the factors considered for the award are innovation and creativity, use of community-based resources as alternatives to the formal court process, and effective use of police discretion, conferencing, alternatives to custody and rehabilitation and reintegration of youth in conflict with the law. For more information about the award, the winners and nominees, visit http://www.canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/yj/awards/awards.html.

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Ref.:

Mark Quinlan
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Justice
(613) 992-4621

Media Relations Office
Department of Justice Canada
(613) 957-4207