Criminal Justice Reform Projects
Prolific Offender Management Project
Frequently Asked Questions
How were pilot communities chosen?
- The pilot communities reflect a variety in population size and density, diversity, regional distribution and patterns of service delivery.
- They were also chosen to build on existing and complementary initiatives already underway.
What does being a pilot site mean?
- A local pilot project team has been set up to integrate services and better manage prolific offenders. The team includes justice partners such as police, corrections, Crown, and youth justice, who will coordinate with social service agencies such as housing, health, addictions and mental illness treatment, income assistance, job training, and so forth.
- A local team will coordinate the various agencies’ involvement with the offenders to support enforcement and social services to them. This will include:
- close police supervision,
- services to support behaviour change,
- timely and robust response to relapse or re-offending.
What are the anticipated benefits of managing prolific offenders in this way?
- Based on similar strategies used in other places, we anticipate that this integrated approach to managing prolific offenders will lead to:
- lower crime rates in the pilot communities;
- less reoffending by the chosen offenders;
- improved compliance with sentencing conditions and treatment;
- improved and more cost-effective service delivery coordination;
- improved access for offenders to the services they need to change their criminal behaviour;
- better coordination within the justice system; and
- better coordination between enforcement and social services agencies.
- Government and its partners must bring all their resources to bear to assist offenders to stop their criminal behaviour.
- At the same time, we must protect the safety of the public and our communities.
- We are trying to get at the root of the problems that drive criminal behaviour, to stop crime by getting offenders the services they need to stop, and to use enforcement when necessary.
What services are going to be provided to offenders?
- Offenders will be provided access to services already available in the community.
- Existing services and enforcement will be better coordinated to suit each offender’s needs, response or criminal behaviour.
What is different about this pilot project compared to what the RCMP and others are doing?
- The pilots complement other programs that are underway in communities.
- They provide a different set of services to a smaller (sometimes different) group of offenders.
- RCMP and Vancouver Police Department have seen significant results by focusing enforcement efforts on their most prolific offenders.
- The prolific offender management pilot add to the enforcement approach treatment and other services to get at the root causes of crime. The public expects government and police to work together to follow up with offenders and get results, and that's what we're doing.
What agencies are involved?
- Police (or RCMP)
- B.C. Corrections
- Correctional Services Canada
- Provincial and federal Crown Counsel
- Youth Justice of the Ministry of Children and Family Development
- Health Authorities (mental health and addictions)
- Ministry of Social Development
- BC Housing
- Forensic Psychiatric Services
- Victim Services is also providing support to make sure victims’ rights and needs are considered and addressed.
How many offenders will be involved and how will they be selected?
- Each community will manage to its capacity, likely 20 to 40 offenders.
- Specific criteria are used to select offenders, including:
- a history of frequent offending,
- intelligence indicates they are still criminally active (primarily police),
- an assessment that they are at medium to high risk to re-offend.
Will any new funding or resources be made available to support the pilots?
- The pilot project is being managed within current services, although new funding is being provided to coordinate the local teams.
- The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General has local staff coordinating and supporting this effort.
- Training and evaluation will be provided through the ministries of Attorney General and Public Safety and Solicitor General.
How will offenders be notified that they are involved with the project?
- They will be notified by their probation officer, or by police.
Will young offenders be included?
- Yes, if they meet all the criteria to be considered a prolific offender.
- We anticipate that only a few youth will meet the criteria.
Will the list of prolific offenders be made public?
- No they will not be made public.
- Public notifications are only made in cases of imminent danger from violent or sexual offenders.
Has this type of prolific offender management approach been used elsewhere? What were the results?
- Yes, it has been used extensively in the United Kingdom with positive results.
- As part of its crime reduction initiative, the RCMP has seen significant results from targeting its enforcement on prolific offenders in five B.C. communities (Coquitlam/Maple Ridge/Port Moody, Courtney/Comox, Fraser Lake, Port McNeill and Penticton).
- Results show annual drops of 10 to 40 per cent in targeted crimes in the RCMP pilot areas.
- Similar results were seen in the Vancouver Police Department’s Chronic Offender Program
, 2004-2007.
- The six prolific offender management pilots will demonstrate whether getting at the root causes of criminal behaviour will maintain or improve on those results.
Is there a role for the general public or the community in managing these offenders?
- The most effective thing people can do is take the necessary precautions to minimize the risk of their being victimized, particularly from property theft. See the tips (PDF/54KB) on how to protect your property.
- Talk to your local police or local government office to see if there are ways in which you can take an active role in helping to reduce and prevent crime in your community.
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