National Crime Prevention Strategy
Background
There is evidence that well-planned crime prevention interventions prevent crime and victimization, promote community safety, and reduce the long term costs associated with the criminal justice system. Created in 1998, the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS) is the principal framework for the implementation of crime prevention policies and programs in Canada, and is administered by Public Safety Canada (PS) in partnership with the provinces and territories. The NCPS provides funding for community-based crime prevention projects, as well as for the development and dissemination of practical knowledge to help Canadian communities adopt effective prevention practices. In 2008, the NCPS shifted to an evidence-based approach to testing crime prevention intervention by putting in place impact evaluations for developing the knowledge of what works to prevent crime.
Status
Through the NCPS, Public Safety provides time-limited funding in the form of grants (maximum of 36 months) and contributions (maximum of 60 months) to organizations to address priority crime issues such as youth gangs, drug related crimes, hate crimes, cyberbullying, and bullying. Time-limited funding allows the flexibility to support new and innovative initiatives.
There are four funds that fall under the NCPS:
- $6.1M annually ongoing and an additional $2M for the Initiative to Take Action Against Guns and Gangs until 2022-23
- Youth Gang Prevention Fund (YGPF) – targets youth at risk of joining, or already in gangs
- $36M annually ongoing
- Crime Prevention Action Fund (CPAF) – evidence-based crime prevention for at-risk groups.
- Northern and Aboriginal Crime Prevention Fund (NACPF) – culturally sensitive initiatives in Indigenous communities and in the North.
- $4M annually until 2021-22 and $3M ongoing starting in 2022-23
- Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Program (SIP) – funding to enhance security infrastructure for communities at risk of hate-motivated crime.
From 2008 to 2019, the NCPS has provided funding to 450 projects in communities across Canada, representing multi-year investments of $421M.
Considerations
2018 Call for Applications
In 2018, PS worked in collaboration with provinces/territories and other stakeholders to launch a call for applications for the YGPF, CPAF, and NACPF programs. Applications were accepted under two streams: Direct Intervention and Strengthening Community Readiness projects among Indigenous and vulnerable populations. Projects selected aim to prevent or reduce the impacts of youth gangs, youth violence, youth bullying, and youth cyberbullying on communities.
Projects under Direct Intervention are targeted initiatives that use evidence-based models and promising approaches to address specific risks and protective factors associated with youth violence, youth gangs, youth bullying and youth cyberbullying. Strengthening Community Readiness refers to initiatives that work to strengthen community development, and explore ways to develop and implement local, culturally-sensitive crime prevention practices.
The call for applications was held from June to July 2018 and resulted in an unprecedented response with over 500 applications. Project assessments and final decisions were made by taking into consideration the following criteria:
- Provinces and territories feedback;
- National representation in all provinces and territories; and
- Available funding.
The selection and development of projects from the 2018 Call relies on the grouping of projects into six cohorts, created in response to the call priorities and identified gaps in knowledge. By strategically funding projects that incorporate similar crime prevention components, PS will be in a position to analyze and compare the results within a cohort of projects with similar attributes.
The call resulted in an unprecedented response of over 550 applications representing about $1 billion. A total of 50 applications were selected for development from the 2018 NCPS Call, totaling an investment of $94M over 5 years. A total of 22 Strengthening Community Readiness projects have been approved, representing $7M and 28 Direct Intervention projects have been approved, representing $87M.
Next Steps
CPAF funds have been fully committed until 2021-2022 and YGPF funds have been fully committed until 2023-2024. As such, the next call for applications for these programs will only take place as funds become available. PS will continue to move ahead with bi-annual call for applications under SIP based on available funds.
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