Community Mobilization Prince Albert (Details)

Name of province/ territory:

Saskatchewan

City/ Region:

Prince Albert

Description of Initiative:

Community Mobilization Prince Albert (CMPA), also referred to as the “Hub,” is an effective, two-tiered, integrated multi-agency team focused on building safer and healthier communities and reducing crime and victimization. These goals are accomplished through: the mobilization of resources to address individuals/families with acutely elevated levels of risk as recognized across a range of service providers; a broader focus on long-term community goals and initiatives; and possible systemic recommendations arrived at through experience, research and analysis.

Initiative Key Objectives:

Key objectives are to achieve a dramatic and ongoing reduction in the levels of crime and victimization. Our citizens and families at risk will gain the supports they need to build positive and healthy lives; our young people will grow and be educated in environments free from fear and risk; and our businesses will operate in a safe and positive marketplace.

Section Responsible for Implementation:

Family Safety Unit—two members seconded to CMPA full time

Key Contact:

Brent Kalinowski
bkalinowski@papolice.ca

Groups/ Agencies/ Key Partners Involved:

  • community groups
  • other police services
  • other government departments/agencies
  • academic institutes (research and evaluation)

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

CMPA is different from other provincial and local community policing and mobilization efforts principally because it brings together all the players involved in community safety and community wellness. The police and all the human service ministries and their related delivery agencies work together to determine immediate and long-term joint solutions.

Amount of Time Initiative has been in Place:

Since February 3, 2011.

Reason for Undertaking the Initiative:

This approach began to develop because of a long struggle in Prince Albert with the growing social issues and ever-increasing arrest rates. We realized that "we are not going to arrest our way out of this"—it was clear that to have any true impact on community safety there needed to be a change to the inputs: a fundamental change to the overall approach.

Resources Required to Implement this Initiative:

Federal and Provincial ‘in-kind’ donations of approximately $165,000 in start-up funds were provided. The project is currently provincially funded at $450,000 annually, which covers the funding for four positions—an executive person, assistant and two analysts.

We received a small amount of funding through INAC ($41,000) at the local level to deal with First Nations issues to start. The funding formula for a franchise (structure) was based on everyone contributing on an affordable level that could be replicated. Agencies were required to bring their staff.

Method of Implementation:

The idea was conceived in 2009. After research in Scotland validated the business plan, it was phased in commencing February 2011.

Key Outcomes of the Initiative:

The goal of CMPA is not just a straight reduction in criminal offences or violence, but also improvement in all aspects of social wellness, such as (but not limited to): improved numbers in emergency room visits, reduced school truancy, a reduction in the workload for other member agencies, etc. Crime statistics are down 14.7%, emergency room statistics are down 10%, a 15.6% reduction in victims, public prosecutions are down by 12% and 86 families have been diverted from services provided by the Ministry of Social Services.

Hub year-to-date activities: 308 projects, 301 completed and 689 tasks. HUB year-to-date: 308 projects, 301 completed and 689 tasks. Number of projects led by police:

  • 40 in housing
  • 33 in maintenance
  • 16 domestic related
  • 31 in mental health
  • 47 in addictions
  • 106 in child welfare
  • 35 miscellaneous

In the last 11 months the following results were observed:
  • Calls for police services are down 666.
  • Crime statistics are down 11.3% (and if you look at the age demographic in Prince Albert, crime statistics would be expected to climb).
  • Emergency room visits are down 11% in the last quarter.
  • Crimes against person (victims) are down 9.1%.
  • Public prosecutions are down 12%.
  • 48 families were diverted from social services (saving one month's worth of work over 11 months).

Availability of a Communication Strategy:

Yes

Key Messages used to Publicize the Initiative:

Refer to the provincial "Building Partnerships to Reduce Crime" (BPRC) website, CMPA website, Facebook and Twitter.

Forms of Evaluation by which the Initiative will be Assessed:

  • formative
  • summative
  • internal
  • external
  • other: quantitative and qualitative in progress

Evaluation Completed or Community Feedback Received:

No

Summary of the Outcomes:

Currently, the CMPA model has the attention of the region, province, country and international community, and it is recognized as the emerging model, or "the game-changer" as it was described in a national policing publication. It continues to develop and refine itself, and is becoming a replicable model with the full support of the provincial government.

Summary of the Performance Measure Data Collected:

N/A

Economics of Policing Pillars:

Further Details:

The CMPA, with its integrated, multi-agency mobilization approach, represents not only a very strong example of government and partners doing business differently, but also a leading example of the full range of aims and principles of the provincial BPRC strategy applied at the local level.

Additional Comments or Suggestions:

Community Mobilization is a way to utilize the existing government and community resources, already in the field, in new and different ways, bringing them together and building on their combined skill sets to create innovative, real-time solutions.

Record Entry Date:

2013-08-01

Date modified: