DATE:

 

17 February 2012

TO/DEST:

 

Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board

FROM/EXP:

 

Chief of Police, Ottawa Police Service

SUBJECT/OBJET:

ESTABLISHMENT OF OTTAWA POLICE YOUTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE

 

 

RECOMMENDATION 

 

That the Ottawa Police Services Board receive this report and presentation for information.

 

BACKGROUND

 

The Ottawa Police Service launched the Partnership In Action (PIA) initiative in 1999 following a 1998 report of the same name.  Grounded in the police service`s core value “Working Together for a Safer Community”, PIA remains an important approach for meaningful community engagement by developing and strengthening respectful, transparent and trusting relationships between the police service and the diverse communities in Ottawa.  Essentially, PIA is crime prevention through community engagement.

 

Over the years, we have engaged the community on a range of important themes and topics through PIA.  Building on the successes of past consultation efforts and the Let’s Chat sessions held during the last Partnership in Action series, this past October was an opportunity for the police service and the Board to collaborate again and host a Let’s Chat session with youth. 

 

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) is already a recognized leader for the youth strategy, services, programs and partnerships it provides to the community.  There is a long list of police-youth initiatives – some of which include:

 

The Let’s Chat Youth Café was an opportunity to build on this existing work and focus on developing a youth engagement strategy and an Ottawa Police Youth Advisory Committee. 

 

DISCUSSION

 

Let’s Chat Youth Café – Objectives

 

The Let’s Chat Youth Café held on October 26, 2011 was an opportunity to:  

o   Contribute a youth perspective to the development of the next three year business plan for the police service.

o   Provide youth with a meaningful way to contribute to a police-youth conversation about youth assets, needs, and issues.

o   Obtain collaborative ideas and solutions for an OPS youth engagement strategy and a youth advisory committee that will serve youth and the police service in 2012 and beyond.

 

Event Design Elements that Support Community Engagement

 

Based on event design best practices and the past Partnership in Action Let’s Chat sessions, the following key elements were built into the design of the Let’s Chat Youth Café session to ensure authentic engagement: 

 

Break Down Barriers:  Dialogue Between Police and Young People  

 

Co-led by the Community Development and Youth sections along with support and involvement from other areas of the organization as well as external partners and youth, the Ottawa Police Service and the Ottawa Police Services Board hosted over hundred youth and police at the Let’s Chat Youth Café at the Nepean Sportsplex on Wednesday, October 26, 2011.  It was a candid and frank dialogue between police officers and youth where everyone contributed to the small table chat discussions focused on three dialogue questions: 

 

1.      What are your ideas for a safer Ottawa?

2.      How can youth contribure to a safe Ottawa?  What can we do together?

3.      How can youth participate in policing?  What would a successful Ottawa Police Service Youth Advisory Committee look like?

 

The event format provided a comfortable atmosphere where youth and police could dialogue about questions and issues that mattered to them.  The key themes and ideas found on the graphic report mural above were brought forward during the final large group summary at the Let’s Chat Youth Café.  While the first question was intended as a warm up for all participants to encourage comfort and thinking for the evening’s second and third questions, it also offered a good comparison since it was used in the 2009 Let’s Chat Coffee Shops as well.  The other two questions provided staff with incredible content to draft an Ottawa Police Youth Advisory Committee – one of the main goals of the Let’s Chat Youth Café. 

 

Introduction of an Ottawa Police Youth Advisory Committee (YAC)

The Ottawa Police Youth Advisory Committee will provide a strategic youth voice and engagement effort for the service. 

 

YAC will be youth led and police supported and include:

-          Diverse representation of young people twenty-four years of age and under (gender, age, occupation, geography, ethnicity, etc.);

-          Regular meetings and incentives such as bus tickets and food;

-          Training and leadership opportunities;

-          Open communications and relationship building; and

-          Youth input and collaboration opportunities for events, projects and other initiatives such as front line training, social media, crime trends, police week, etc.

 

Following the application outreach and selection process, it is expected that YAC will be launched this April/May 2012.  Once launched YAC will be operationalized and coordinated by the Youth Section.  

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

 

Costs associated with the Let’s Chat Youth Café (126109-502913 Public Consultation and 126109-502330 Professional Services) included:

 

Venue rental & supply costs               $1,200.00

Catering                                                2,100.00

Facilitation                                            1,575.00

Outreach (printing)                               1,500.00

Report Writing                                      2,300.00 

                                                            $8,675.00

 

CONSULTATION & CONCLUSION

 

PIA is the cornerstone of public consultation for the police service.  Along with continual consultation at the district and neighbourhood level, PIA initiatives provide an opportunity to focus on particular themes and key decisions to support the community-based policing approach.  PIA is more than a traditional consultative event because it aims to identify and build upon community involvement and engagement within policing.

 

The Community Development Section will be working with the Board as well as areas of the organization to determine public engagement projects for 2012 and the next business planning cycle that meet current community interests, concerns and priorities.  PIA continues to be the point of contact for community engagement and partnership efforts for the public:  pia@ottawapolice.ca, 613.236.1222, ext. 6417.

 

 

 

(Original signed by)

 

Vern White

Chief of Police