The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Manitoba government has made permanent an innovative program designed to ensure young offenders below the age of 12 are not overlooked by the system. The Turnabout protocol tracks the crimes of children in this age group and helps provide support to the offenders, their families and the victims. The program started as a pilot project in October 2002 and became permanent with yesterday's announcement of $94,000 in provincial funding. Almost 90 per cent of offenders involved with the program have had no further involvement with police, according to the province. "People are wanting to see something concrete done with these kids," Turnabout coordinator John Hutton told The Reminder in a previous interview. "They want something that keeps the communities safe as well as the kids safe." Through the program, the RCMP supply Hutton with the names of offenders under 12. The coordinator then contacts the parents to offer advice on how to deal with their children. He may recommend a community activity for the child, such as a youth drop-in centre, or counseling. He also gets in touch with the victim to discuss the crime, and may inform them of victim support groups which her or she can access. If the victim and the parents of the offender are willing, Hutton arranges for a face-to-face session between the parties with the goal of reconciliation. He commented that such sessions will be of particular benefit to small towns like Flin Flon where there exists an 'everybody knows everybody' atmosphere. "In smaller communities, the child is often known to the victim," said Hutton. "Any sort of reconciliation between the two parties, especially when they know each other, is positive." The coordinator said one of the benefits of Turnabout is that it suppies the province with information relative to the frequency of crimes committed by children under 12, as well as the types of crime. "We want to know about even minor incidents like shoplifting," said Hutton. "We want to have a sense of what's going on and whether or not what we're doing is working." Another positive spin-off, noted Hutton, is that the province will be able to identify neglected children and refer them to Child and Family Services. Prior to the program, the province itself did nothing to deal with offenders younger than 12, who cannot be prosecuted for crimes due to federal legislation. That left parents to deal with the offenders, and the Turnabout program doesn't change that. "We still need the consent of the parents before the child can be put into a support program or some type of counseling," said Hutton.4/28/2004
