Civilianization and Crime Reduction (Details)

Name of province/ territory:

New Brunswick

City/ Region:

New Brunswick

Description of Initiative:

To support the division objective of evidenced-based, intelligence-led enforcement and prevention, the division hired civilian criminal analysts and civilian crime prevention specialists called Community Program Officers (CPOs). The idea of hiring civilians for these positions was a cost-saving measure. Having civilians complete these duties ensures they can focus solely on their responsibilities without being called away for emergencies as has been the case when uniformed officers filled these roles.

CPO positions are generally funded under the Provincial Police Service Agreement with New Brunswick; however some CPO positions are under municipal direct contracts (Codiac will soon have two CPOs and Sackville will have one).

Initiative Key Objectives:

This initiative aims to provide a more cost-effective model of policing services by providing:

• good crime analysis to assist in managing resources (e.g., focusing enforcement personnel on prolific and priority offenders and crime hot spots); and
• a pool of crime prevention professionals who are experts in implementing evidence-based crime prevention initiatives, especially for youth.

• reduce crime and victimization;
• disrupt the behavior of the small group of offenders responsible for a large percentage of reported crime;
• take action on the youth intervention and diversion divisional strategy;
• enhance the proactive approach to crime reduction through leadership and engagement;
• free up uniformed positions for the front line;
• strengthen partnerships at the community level (CPOs);
• collect better data for setting targets and measuring outcomes; and
• provide our contracting partners with optional services beyond uniformed officers.

Section Responsible for Implementation:

Ownership is on two levels: The strategic portion is owned by the Division Criminal Analyst Section (DCAS) and the Crime Reduction Unit. All criminal analysts (both federal and provincial) report to DCAS for strategic direction, to allow for continuity of training, maintenance of the same professional standard for all analysts, etc. The CPOs report to their respective districts, but take their strategic direction from the Crime Reduction Unit which oversees the Youth, Aboriginal Policing, Crime Prevention, Drug Prevention and Crime Reduction strategies. The Crime Reduction Unit also heavily influences the strategic direction of DCAS.

Key Contact:

Rick Shaw
rick.shaw@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Groups/ Agencies/ Key Partners Involved:

• community groups
• private agencies/corporations
• civilian governing authorities
• other government departments/agencies

Level of Involvement (consultative - information sharing) and/or cooperative - direct involvement):

The CPOs actively engage numerous community partners, who are then directly involved in our crime prevention/reduction efforts. However, hiring civilians in these roles was an internal decision after consultation with government partners and others.

Parallel initiatives dealing with youth prolific offenders are owned by groups where we have partcipation. Most districts, including Codiac, now have youth conferencing committees and intervention and diversion committees functioning. Our CPOs are liaising with our criminal analysts daily (review of youth cases, etc.).

Amount of Time Initiative has been in Place:

Hiring of both groups began in 2007.

Reason for Undertaking the Initiative:

It was a more focused means to ensure our policing resources are focusing on the right individuals through an evidence-based approach.

Resources Required to Implement this Initiative:

Six full-time civilian analysts at approximately $600,000 per year (total) and 11 full time civilian CPOs at approximately $1.1 million per year. Both categories are far less expensive than uniformed officers.

Method of Implementation:

Pilot project began in the RCMP’s largest municipality, Moncton, in 2007 and then spread to the entire province in 2008.

Key Outcomes of the Initiative:

Policing operations are more focused and intelligence-led. They are based on on problem-oriented policing methodologies and a focus on crime reduction through the process of removing the causes of crime. We now have resources focused on the small percentage of the population which is responsible for the majority of crime. Reductions in property crime, in particular, have been outstanding right across the province. A reduction of over 20% in property crime was reported by Codiac RCMP. Overall, the RCMP in New Brunswick saw a reduction of over 7000 calls for service in 2011. The measurements were primarily outputs for the first two to three years (# of street checks, # of curfew checks, etc.). This year, in our district performance plan, we are including outcome measures such as reductions in calls or crime types.

The same applies to crime prevention—our youth strategy is led by CPOs and ensures we have the right youth going to the right services at the right time based on scientifically validated screening and assessment. Referrals of young persons to community services have gone from almost nil, to approximately 75 per month. Demand for additional analytical capability and more CPOs is very high. Partnerships at the community level have never been better. Our crime data is put to great use and supports our balanced scorecard and annual performance plan with strong targets and measures. Calls for service have also been reduced, freeing up time for uniformed officers.

Availability of a Communication Strategy:

Yes

Key Messages used to Publicize the Initiative:

The primary strategy was a campaign that saw face-to-face meetings with all RCMP frontline police officers in the province of New Brunswick in order to ensure a consistent message as well as to promote buy-in.

Forms of Evaluation by which the Initiative will be Assessed:

• formative
• internal
• external
• quantitative

Evaluation Completed or Community Feedback Received:

Yes

Summary of the Outcomes:

'J' Division seeks to make New Brunswick the safest province in Canada. With input from key partners and academics, 'J' Division has developed a formula for determining the safest province. New Brunswick reached the number one position in 2010 and now remains at number two.

There was a significant reduction in calls for service for frontline policing. There was also a reduction with property crime reports. Frontline officers have learned to be more effective in patrolling hot spots, and doing street checks and curfew checks. Thousands of documented street checks were recorded over the past year which led to many examples of serious crimes being resolved as well as extremely valuable criminal intelligence being gathered. A large percentage (majority) of prolific offenders being placed on a court-imposed curfew do not re-offend while on curfew. Because of the crime reduction drive in New Brunswick, we are also developing more efficiencies with our partners in the justice system.

Summary of the Performance Measure Data Collected:

N/A

Economics of Policing Pillars:

• Efficiencies within Police Services
• New Models of Community Safety

Further Details:

N/A

Additional Comments or Suggestions:

Crime reduction is now evolving to address victimization in a more significant manner. We will continue to focus our attention on prolific offenders in property crime but we are further developing the prolific offender list to include other crime types which may cause more harm to society. This process is evolving now.

Using civilians in key positions lowers the cost of policing for contracting partners. By making more effective use of crime data and available research, we have been able to focus resources on certain segments of the population, which has led to a reduction in crime and calls for service. 'J' Division’s service delivery model is one of evidence-based and intelligence-led policing. It has brought 'J' Division to a level of contemporary policing where employees are engaged, involved in setting reduction and prevention goals and can communicate their role in reducing crime and victimization. They understand the processes and plan their shifts strategically. Consultation at the community level is inclusive of a wide range of clients. Annual Performance Plan initiatives are clear, and measureable outcomes are the norm. Analytical work is evident. Unit managers track call volume and workload. Justice partners share common goals and strategies in managing the prolific, chronic and/or priority offender.

'J' Division seeks to reach a level where managing the prolific, chronic and/or priority offender has spread into the community and is not a problem for the judicial system alone; where community social groups are engaged and are key players in offender management strategies that address issues and drivers of crime such as addictions, mental health, poverty, employment, housing and literacy; where youth at risk are a unit priority; where crime levels and crime clearance rates are monitored closely; where the number of identified prolific offenders has stabilized; and where prevention initiatives are evidence-based and crime reduction initiatives are intelligence-led. Some districts are there already, but more work is necessary.

Since November 2009, the CPOs have been focusing on the 'J' Division Five Year Youth Crime Prevention Plan in support of Crime Reduction. Here are some of their accomplishments:

• All CPOs are now experts in youth diversion and evidence-based crime prevention.
• All CPOs are now trainers on the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), risk/protective factors, youth screening, intervention/diversion, and for the Partnering for Safer Communities workshop (a New Brunswick Public Safety course).
• Some CPOs are now trainers for youth assessment, restorative justice and Aboriginal Shield.
• CPOs have trained over 90% of RCMP officers and numerous community partners on the YCJA, risk/protective factors, youth screening and intervention/diversion.
• CPOs provide ongoing training for officers and community partners in all noted areas.
• Some CPOs are facilitators for the Seeing Oneself drug and alcohol misuse program.
• The CPOs have engaged community partners in our strategy through the formation of the multidisciplinary Youth Intervention & Diversion committees.
• Over 1000 youth have been screened (either by CPOs or by officers trained by CPOs) for risk/protective factors, allowing for evidence-based referrals to community services and providing significant data to inform decisions on effective use of police/community resources.
• Hundreds of low-risk youth have been diverted from the criminal justice system altogether.
• Hundreds of moderate-risk youth have been referred to community services based on risk, need responsivity theory leading to the reduced criminalization of youth.
• Police officers are now considering all factors when dealing with youth—meeting the requirements of the YCJA (this is a major cultural shift and can be attributed to the expertise of the CPOs).
• 'J' Division is now recognized as a national and international leader in crime prevention and reduction.
• The bottom line: since implementation of the strategy, incidents of youth crime (youth charged or chargeable) in RCMP jurisdictions are down 33%, the youth crime rate in New Brunswick has dropped 27% and the youth crime severity index is down 30%. Also, referrals to Alternative Measures (a post-charge higher-level sanction) are down 24%, meaning more youth are being dealt with pre-charge, again reducing criminalization of youth.

Record Entry Date:

2013-08-01