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Manitoba Justice

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Crime Prevention

The Crime Prevention Unit, part of the Corrections Division of Manitoba Justice, co-ordinates crime prevention policies and programs. The goal is to prevent criminal behaviour before it starts by addressing the factors that put individuals, families and communities at risk. Protective factors are also put in place to empower people and make them feel safe. Protective factors help prevent problem behaviours. They can be external factors like family, peers, school and community. They can also be internal factors like empowerment, self-control, cultural safety and social sensitivity.

Risk Factors for Crime and Victimization

Risk applies to events or experiences that increase negative behaviour, such as drug use or gang activities. Risk factors can be internal (within the person) or external (involving family, school, work, and community).

Prevention research classifies these risk factors as:

  • Neuropsychological: (related to the brain and body)
    • Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
    • heredity
    • poor nutrition
  • Family:
    • ineffective parenting
    • crime-involved parents
    • violence
  • School:
    • poor attendance
    • inability to form and maintain emotional relationships
    • low grades
  • Substance Abuse
    • underage and/or binge drinking
    • illegal drug use
    • prescription drug abuse
  • Peers:
    • negative influences
    • foster/Group home involvement
  • Neighbourhoods:
    • disorganization - no shared sense of community among residents
    • high turnover of citizens
    • single parent households
    • perception of being unsafe
  • Economics:
    • low income

Departmental Partnerships

The Crime Prevention Unit works with the following departments to co-ordinate crime prevention initiatives:

Manitoba Aboriginal and Northern Affairs

Manitoba Education

Manitoba Family Services and Corporate Affairs

Manitoba Health

Manitoba Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors – Healthy Child Manitoba Office – Manitoba Justice works with HCMO to explore the most effective crime prevention programs. Healthy Child Manitoba co-ordinates the provincial early childhood development strategy and provides numerous programs such as Triple P (Positive Parenting Programs), Families First and Healthy Baby. These programs are examples of evidence based crime prevention through social development initiatives.

Manitoba Housing and Community Development

Manitoba Labour and Immigration

Children and Youth Programs

A large part of the Crime Prevention Unit's strategy is to prevent crime by supporting new parents and engaging kids in positive activities at a young age. To achieve this, the Crime Prevention Unit works with:

  • Healthy Child Manitoba (HCM), which provides programs for parents like Triple P (Positive Parenting Program), Families First, and Healthy Baby. HCM helps parents support their children's development in a positive way
  • Changes for Children, an action plan developed by Manitoba Family Services and Corporate Affairs to improve Manitoba's foster care system. The program was launched in response to reviews of the Child and Family Services system
  • The Manitoba Youth Transitional Employment Assistance Mentorship project, or MyTEAM, offers youths from 16 to 21 years of age personalized plans that will help them leave the child welfare system and be successful in the community
  • ALLAboard Poverty Reduction Strategy, a strong poverty reduction plan and a strong economic plan. Working together to accomplish a goal of continuously reducing poverty and increasing social inclusion.
  • MB4Youth Division, which Manitoba Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors has developed as a single source of information for all youth programs and services offered by the Manitoba government
  • Lighthouses, part of Neighbourhoods Alive!, which gets youth involved in after-school activities, such as sports, arts and music, which are organized by and for local youth.
  • Turnabout, a referral-based prevention program for children under 12 who are getting involved in criminal activity

Safety in Schools

Children and youth spend a lot of time in school, so the Crime Prevention Unit encourages crime prevention activities in the classroom. Initiatives that promote safety and help protect youth from being victimized include:

  • Safe Schools Manitoba, a group of organizations committed to working together to enhance the safety of Manitoba’s schools and communities
  • Choices, a school-based program that addresses the rise of youth gang activity, poor school attendance, drug use, failing grades and dropping out
  • School Resource Officers (SRO), law enforcement professionals who work with students, staff and parents to address crime and safety concerns.  They also provide services from law enforcement to mediation.

Preventing Gang Activity in Your Neighbourhood

Gangs falsely promise money, excitement, belonging and protection. To some young people, this can seem irresistible, especially if they feel that no one cares about them or if there has been trauma or violence in their families. The Crime Prevention Unit focuses on:

Gang Prevention Public Awareness

Project Gang-Proof is the province's written resources on gangs. It includes a:

The information contained in Project Gang-Proof is based on solid research and the advice of:

  • Manitoba Justice
  • law enforcement agencies
  • community members, agencies and youth
  • teachers
  • child and family services
  • social workers and counsellors

Sexual Exploitation Prevention

Sexual exploited children and youth are more susceptible to:

  • violence
  • early pregnancy
  • involvement with child welfare and criminal justice systems
  • long-term dependence on social services
  • becoming abusers themselves

To encourage existing community groups with common goals to work together toward common goals, the Government of Manitoba created Tracia's Trust: Manitoba Strategy Responding to Children and Youth at Risk of, or Survivors of, Sexual Exploitation. Some of the Manitoba Strategy initiatives include:

Health Initiatives and Resources

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Strategy

Children and youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) need extra support, so the Manitoba government introduced Manitoba’s FASD Strategy in April 2007. The strategy was developed with experts and people in the community. The goal is to promote prevention and provide support for individuals with FASD throughout their lives.

Manitoba Centre for Health Policy

Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) is a research centre within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. It conducts population-based research on health services, public health, and the social factors of health. MCHP develops and maintains the data on behalf of the Province of Manitoba for use by the local, national and international research community.

Economic and Community Development Programs

To prevent crime by encouraging economic and community development in communities, the Crime Prevention Unit works with:

Seniors and Safety

To protect Manitoba seniors, the Crime Prevention Unit works with:

  • Manitoba Seniors and Healthy Aging Secretariat that promotes health, independence and well-being of all older Manitobans
  • SafetyAid, a joint program between Manitoba Justice, Manitoba Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors, Manitoba Seniors and Healthy Aging Secretariat, Winnipeg Police Service and Age & Opportunity.  The program conducts home safety audits and uses qualified tradespeople to install security devices in the homes of low income seniors.

Safety Audits

Manitoba Justice supports traditional crime prevention for all ages, such as performing home safety audits. Valuable safety resources include:

Federal Partnership

The Crime Prevention Unit works closely with the National Crime Prevention Centre (NCPC); NCPC publishes information on best practices to reduce crime and offers funding programs that help communities undertake crime prevention activities.

Further Crime Prevention Resources

Institute for the Prevention of Crime (IPC)

The IPC brings together scientific knowledge from expert sources to help reduce crime and victimization in Canada.

International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC)

The ICPC is an international forum for national governments, local authorities, public agencies, specialized institutions and non-government organizations to network, consider new research and improve policies and programs on crime prevention and community safety.

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