Alberta Solicitor General and Ministry of Public Security administers grant funding programs to support and empower communities in addressing their respective crime issues and concerns.

The three streams of community funding programs administered by Alberta Solicitor General include:

The Alberta Community Crime Prevention (ACCP) Grant Program is available as a part of Alberta’s Crime Prevention Strategy, founded on recommendations arising from the 1999 Alberta Summit on Justice. The program is available to support communities in delivering Situational crime prevention or Crime Prevention through Social Development (CPSD) initiatives that address local crime concerns.

Situational crime prevention approaches are designed to deter criminal behaviour or make criminal acts more difficult to commit. This approach focuses on reducing the opportunity for crime to occur, increasing the risk of detection and reducing the rewards resulting from a criminal act.

CPSD focuses on addressing the social and economic factors that may place individuals at risk to commit crime or be victimized. Risk factors and root causes of crime include, but are not limited to:

• child abuse and neglect
• family violence
• school difficulties
• illiteracy
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
• substance abuse
• poverty

CPSD addresses these risk factors and promotes protective factors such as school success, parenting skills, social support mechanisms, and positive self-esteem to deter criminal behaviour and to foster healthier life choices in individuals.

How to apply for a grant:
The next intake of applications to the ACCP grant program will occur in 2007.

The federal government shares funds received under the Proceeds of Crime legislation with the provinces once a year. In Alberta, $50,000 annually, or 30% of the funds received by the province (whichever is less), is specifically allotted for crime prevention purposes. The POC Grant Fund is available to all police services operating in Alberta including municipal, First Nations, and the RCMP.

Funding is intended for the development of community-focused initiatives that increase awareness of crime prevention and meet community identified crime prevention needs. A maximum of $5,000 is available per project. While there is currently no limit on the number of applications a police service can make, equitable distribution of funds throughout the province is considered by the POC Crime Prevention Grant Review Committee when making funding recommendations.

During the 1999 Alberta Summit on Justice, delegates recommended that victims be given a more meaningful role in the justice process and that they achieve equal status with accused persons and offenders. While it was acknowledged that prison sentences for certain types of crime are an effective and necessary option, delegates also indicated that offenders should be held directly accountable to the community and to the individuals who have been harmed by their actions through the use of restorative justice processes.

In response to these recommendations, Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security developed a Community Justice Policy based on restorative justice principles. The policy commits the department to working in partnership with communities, grassroots agencies and other government departments to make restorative justice processes more widely available in Alberta and to improve outcomes for Albertans affected by crime and victimization.

As a component of provincial policy, the Alberta Community Restorative Justice (ACRJ) grant program is meant to build a restorative justice foundation in Alberta, ensuring public confidence in community restorative justice processes that meet locally identified priorities.

How to apply for a grant:
Applications are being accepted until November 20, 2006.