Community Officers (Details)

Name of province/ territory:

Quebec

City/ Region:

Montreal

Description of Initiative:

Addition of civilian community officers in some community police stations (nine officers).

Initiative Key Objectives:

The main objective of the officers is to contribute to the enrichment of knowledge and work done on local safety issues in the target communities, particularly by depending on the cooperation of partners and citizens with respect to safety. The officers work to help identify service or activity needs that might impact safety and quality of life (other than through police work). To do so, they use a number of research and information indicators, such as the following:

• portrait of population socio-economics in the community police station’s area: general and related to specific issues (characteristics of households, revenue, etc.);
• portrait of crime and safety issues in the community police station’s area: general and related to specific issues (e.g., domestic violence, youth, etc.);
• research and sharing of best practices;
• dysfunction analysis;
• portrait of community services;
• opinion surveys; and
• consultation with partners.

Section Responsible for Implementation:

Research and planning section

Key Contact:

Isabelle Billette
Isabelle.billette@SPVM.Qc.ca

Groups/ Agencies/ Key Partners Involved:

• community groups
• private agencies/corporations
• other government departments/agencies

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

Sometimes consultative, sometimes cooperative, sometimes both.

Amount of Time Initiative has been in Place:

Since 2007.

Reason for Undertaking the Initiative:

To meet a need for connections and greater dialogue with citizens and community organizations.

Resources Required to Implement this Initiative:

Nine full-time civilian employees were added, which represents an estimated cost of $900,600 for 2013, including benefits and employer contributions.

Method of Implementation:

One pilot project followed by two implementation phases, currently serving nine community police stations.

Key Outcomes of the Initiative:

What comes up most often is the ability to explore issues in greater depth and identify what can be done about those issues to facilitate the work of police officers.

Working on issues is considered important to help lighten the workload of police officers, but also to improve the quality of life for the population, particularly by finding solutions for various situations that otherwise might become worse or require multiple interventions.

The community officers have helped in a number of ways to enhance trust levels between the SPVM, its partners and the population, to increase the organization’s transparency regarding its actions, and to better coordinate the efforts of all partners to improve the living environment and safety.

Availability of a Communication Strategy:

Yes

Key Messages used to Publicize the Initiative:

Stakeholders in the area; community expertise; working together; bringing police and citizens closer together.

Forms of Evaluation by which the Initiative will be Assessed:

• summative
• internal
• quantitative
• qualitative

Evaluation Completed or Community Feedback Received:

Yes

Summary of the Outcomes:

N/A

Summary of the Performance Measure Data Collected:

N/A

Economics of Policing Pillars:

• New Models of Community Safety

Further Details:

N/A

Additional Comments or Suggestions:

N/A

Record Entry Date:

2013-08-01