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Winners >Constable Richard Morris
Honourable Mentions
Constable Richard Morris
Winnipeg Police Service
A twenty-year veteran, Constable Richard Morris is committed to a policing
philosophy that brings citizens and police together to identify and address
youth crime. As an officer in the Community Support Unit assigned to the West
Broadway neighbourhood, Cst. Morris saw the challenges youth were facing because
they did not have positive role models or connections to their cultural roots.
He recognized that sometimes he needed to use an enforcement approach to the
law and other times he needed to exercise discretion as a peace officer using
a community based approach to youth justice.
He had a dream of creating an Aboriginal Youth Village as a way of connecting
many of the Aboriginal youth he was in contact with to their cultural roots.
He sought help from elders and others in the community to make his dream a reality.
And it worked. In the words of one Aboriginal community leader, "he is
a white police officer who gained the trust and confidence of the community
which is mostly Aboriginal".
With the trust of the community he was able to introduce a conferencing approach
as an alternative to the traditional system of police and the courts. He became
a Community Justice Forum facilitator and began to use the approach to divert
youth with potential to do better out of the courtroom process and to reintegrate
them in the community. In the process, he has built new partnerships within
the justice system and throughout the community.
Based on his success in Winnipeg, he is now working on a pilot project with
the provincial government. Cst. Rick Morris is an excellent example of a new
style of policing in action.
Contact person: Constable Richard Morris
204-986-6054
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