Peel Police Services Board November 17, 1994 (Youth) Community Summit – Final Report
UPDATE: Monday, November 17, 2008:
TODAY IS THE 14th anniversary of the release of the Peel Police Services Board November 17, 1994 (Youth) Community Summit – Final Report. Yes, fourteen years ago today.
Regarding Youth programs, Recommendation 1 of that report urged that:
“A process of accountability and evaluation should be built into programs to ensure achievement of goals and cost-effectiveness.”
and Recommendation 6: Youth urged that:
Youth drop-in centres be created to provide safe and healthy `hang outs’ for young people, with such centres to be youth-driven and located where youth congregate such as shopping malls;
FACT: A Mississauga child born in Malton when this Peel Police Services Board Final Report was released is exactly 14 years old today. During that time, not only has the City of Mississauga not provided him with a “drop-in” centre but should this 14 year old enter Malton Community Centre, he’d be greeted with an exclusive-to-Malton sign that states:
To any born-raised-living-in-Peel kid who has his/her 14th birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR PEEL-PUPPY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
(Here’s the report)
Internal Correspondence
To: Chair and Members From: Frederick Biro
Dept: Police Services Board Dept: Police Services Board ==============================================================================
Date: November 17, 1994
File Class:
Re: Community Summit – Final Report
Backqround Information and Discussion:
The Community Summit sponsored by the Regional Municipality of Peel Police Services Board was held September 30/October lst. The 80 suggestions forwarded as a result of the workshop discussions were condensed into 12 recommendations. These were reviewed and approved by the Community Summit Steering Committee.
It was the advice of the Steering Committee that each recommendation be forwarded to the attention of specific lead agencies who would have responsibility for reviewing and implementing the recommendation if they believed it to be of benefit. This suggestion was incorporated into the Final Report.
The Community Summit – Final Report, and a “How-To’ Manual was prepared by Ms. Sonia Mistri, Community Summit Co-ordinator. The Final Report includes an Executive Summary which is attached to this memorandum.
Complete copies of both documents will be available at the Board meeting.
Recommendation:
That the information be received;
further, that the Board, following review and consultation with the police service, respond to those recommendations that have applicability to the Peel Regional Police;
further, the Board determine what action, if any, it wishes to take to advance the goal of the Community Summit.
Frederick Biro
Executive Director
P.R.P. 40
PAGE 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Regional Municipality of Peel prides itself on being a safe and secure environment for residents, workers and visitors. The Region of Peel has two active crime prevention associations, well supported by a dedicated police service. However, the responsibility and ownership for safety and security resides with all of Peel’s citizens and it is in this spirit that the Community Summit was conceived and developed.
The Community Summit brought together various partners from the community to share what was already being done to maintain the safety and security of the area, to determine what more could and should be done, and how it could be achieved. It was the inception of a multi-disciplinary and integrated effort within the Region of Peel to address the root causes of crime.
The Regional Municipality of Peel Police Services Board, as the link between police and community, was in a unique position to initiate and sponsor the Summit. At its meeting on April 22, 1994, the Board adopted a motion to sponsor the Community Summit with the objective of developing meaningful and practical strategies which would serve to maintain and enhance the safe and secure environment within the Regional Municipality of Peel.
The philosophy behind the Summit was based on the 1993 report from the federal government’s Standing Committee on Justice and the Solicitor General entitled `Crime Prevention in Canada: Toward a National Strategy.’ The crux of the report, and the mandate of the Summit, required the community to take responsibility for ensuring safety and security, and to do so by addressing the underlying social issues contributing to crime. Community agencies, organizations, police, government and citizens had to be partners in the prevention of criminal activity.
In June 1994, a Community Summit Steering Committee comprised of representatives from stakeholders and constituencies in the Region of Peel was assembled. It was formed to ensure full representation, and therefore ownership, throughout the planning and implementation of this initiative.
The Community Summit took place on September 30 and October 1, 1994. Over 130 delegates, representing a wide cross-section of the community members, service providers, stakeholders, and political representatives, participated. Delegates pledged their commitment to the Summit’s objectives by signing a Declaration of Intent which read:
We, the undersigned, publicly declare our commitment to the fostering of a safe and secure community through local partnerships and initiatives, through a sense of ownership of both problems and solutions, and through pride in what has been and will be achieved in the Region of Peel.
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A total of twelve workshops focusing on issues specific to Peel Region were offered on Saturday. Workshop topics evolved through considerable research with stakeholders, service providers and community members as to which issues were most important and relevant to the Region of Peel.
The workshop topics were: Crime Prevention; Collaborative Action (taking control through partnership); Revitalizing Neighbourhoods; Youth and Crime; Building Relations Between Cultural Groups; Substance Abuse; Weapons Use; Family Safety and Security; Investing in our Future; Safety in the Home (domestic violence); and the Role of Senior Governments.
From these workshops, delegates generated a total of over eighty recommendations. These have been condensed into twelve specific proposals which are listed below. This report has been distributed to all stakeholders and bodies to whom the recommendations are addressed, as well as to all delegates and interested parties. A mailing list has been created to keep the community informed as to future happenings.
The Steering Committee will reconvene in one year to discuss the progress made on the implementation of each recommendation and to determine the next step or further course of action. In the interim, it was determined the Regional Task Force (Recommendation 3) would be the group best able to encourage, monitor and record progress made on the recommendations.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1: Crime Prevention
Delegates recommend that crime prevention initiatives be unique and tailored to local communities. It is recognized that the two existing Crime Prevention Associations are the best vehicle for program development and implementation. A process of accountability and evaluation should be built into programs to ensure achievement of goals and cost-effectiveness.
Recommendation 2: Security of Property
Delegates recommend that:
- Businesses and mall owners employ target hardening and CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) techniques to review their facilities;
- Parks & Recreation Departments conduct safety audits on all parks and facilities to ensure safety in public environments;
- that the creation and maintenance of Neighbourhood Watch Programs be expanded.
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Recommendation 3: Regional Task Force
Delegates recommend that the Regional government initiate and set up a Strategic Task Force to create a Strategic Plan for safety and security issues in the Region. The Task Force would co-ordinafe specific projects at the Regional level. This would complement and overlay the work of the local Crime Prevention Associations. A multi-disciplinary sub-committee of the Task Force should develop a youth strategy targeted at youth most at risk. The Task Force would also review funding levels and sources, and lobby the senior levels of government on crime prevention issues.
Recommendation 4: Planning
Delegates recommend that:
- Crime prevention concepts and philosophies be incorporated into the Strategic Plans of local governments and be included in the Master Plans for each Regional and City Department;
- planners be required to receive input regarding crime prevention concepts from community sources as new projects are developed;
- new home designs include `target hardening’ features, and that these be required through changes to the Building Code and/or local by-laws.
Recommendation 5: National Crime Prevention Council
Delegates recommend that:
- The federal government be responsible, through the National Crime Prevention Council, for the gathering of information from across the country and for making it accessible and available;
- the National Crime Prevention Council co-ordinate, on a priority basis, an information sharing network on community safety initiatives via the following methods:
— The Justice computer network;
— National Crime Prevention Council newsletters;
— the creation of a database of information and contacts;
— the Council hosting practitioners’ conferences;
— the Council providing for training materials;
- the National Crime Prevention Council, on behalf of local Crime Prevention Associations and agencies involved in crime prevention initiatives, lobby for the use of proceeds of crime funds to be funnelled through to such programs.
Recommendation 6: Youth
Delegates recognize the importance of preventing youth from becoming involved in criminal activity. It is recommended that:
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- Youth drop-in centres be created to provide safe and healthy `hang outs’ for young people, with such centres to be youth-driven and located where youth congregate such as shopping malls;
- more recreational programs and activities be created for youth to provide structure to after-school time, and these programs be located in schools or public buildings outside of regular hours;
- youth co-ordinators, who are themselves youth, be provided for each of the Parks & Recreation Departments;
- agencies working with youth develop protocols and designate a liaison person to co-ordinate information and services;
- Police Community Liaison Committees re-examine their potential to address youth crime at the community level.
Recommendation 7: Programs In Schools
Delegates recommend that:
- The V.I.P. (Values, Influences, Peers) program be mandated and taught in elementary school by Grade Six, and that a course on societal expectations be taught by Grade Seven;
- conflict resolution be taught in elementary and secondary schools;
- a mandatory course on drug education be taught in secondary schools;
- social workers or counsellors be placed in the school system to provide students with non-academic counselling;
- the Police School Liaison Officer program be expanded with funding to be shared by the school boards and police;
- CRIMESTOPPERS, School Watch and similar initiatives be extended to secondary schools in Peel.
Recommendation 8: Skills Training
Delegates recommend that, for the purpose of raising individual self-esteem, recipients of social assistance be required to attend skills training sessions which focus on topics such as job skills, parenting skills and social skills.
Recommendation 9: Cultural Diversity
Delegates recommend that government funding at all levels be targeted towards:
- Programs that, while recognizing diversity, work towards building bridges between different groups;
- programs that identify local issues or problems specific to or between individual communities and tailor the solutions to match that particular community’s needs.
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Recommendation 10: Substance Abuse
Delegates recommend that:
- Legislative changes be made to incorporate increased fines and penalties for impaired driving offenses;
- zoning restrictions be placed on the proximity of liquor establishments to schools.
Recommendation 11: Weapons Use
Delegates recommend that:
- Legislative changes be made to establish stricter gun control measures and stricter enforcement of the law;
- gun amnesties and knife amnesties be carried out so as to include anonymity for those dropping off weapons and the establishment of neutral drop points.
Recommendation 12: Media, Television & Film Industry
Delegates recommend:
- Ways and means be found by which to make the media, television and film industry, and video game companies, more accountable for the impact their programming and content has on the development of young people;
- that contributions be made, through funding or resources in kind, towards the creation of programs which emphasize the positive and socially productive values of society;
- the development and availability of technology that would allow parents to control television and video game access when they are unable to provide personal supervision.
(NOVEMBER 17, 1994) DOCUMENT ENDS
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