Backgrounder: Minister of Justice National Youth Justice Policing Awards

The Minister of Justice National Youth Justice Policing Award was established in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) in 2000. The award is presented annually to police officers who, singly or as a team, develop approaches for dealing with youth in conflict with law that go beyond the formal court system. It celebrates innovative policing and serves to inform the police and wider community about creative responses to youth crime.

The award recognizes programs and approaches that use measures outlined in the Youth Criminal Justice Act to help with the rehabilitation and reintegration of the young person. These measures include:

• Extrajudicial measures under Part I of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (eg. warnings, cautions, referrals to community agencies as alternatives to the formal court system); and
• Conferencing as a means of providing advice to decision makers through the youth justice process; or

To be considered for the Award, the programs and approaches must use these measures to provide proportionate responses to offending conduct. The responses should be aimed at helping young people understand the impact of their actions and encouraging the involvement of parents, families and communities in the justice system.

The award is presented during the annual CACP conference. This year the conference will be held in Calgary, Alberta, from August 19-22.

The Department ask for nominees by sending out a call letter and nomination papers to police chiefs and RCMP across Canada. In addition, the award is advertised on the Youth Justice section of the Department’s Web site and in police organizations’ newsletters and bulletins. Police services, individual police officers, community groups, and citizens are eligible to nominate police officers for the Award. Nominations are reviewed and a winner is selected by a committee consisting of representatives from the policing and justice communities.

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Department of Justice Canada
August 2007