BRITISH COLUMBIA
Integrated approach to help chronic offenders is a positive step forward
When confronted with high levels of mental illness, drug addiction and property crime, it's tempting to look for a one-size-fits-all solution. And that solution all too often involves throwing more people into already overcrowded and understaffed jails.
Fortunately, the British Columbia government has come to realize that this strategy is not a solution, as it leads to increased stress on the criminal justice and health systems and will only exacerbate the situation once chronic offenders are released from jail. Consequently, in recognition of the fact that 50 per cent of reported crimes in B.C. are committed by about 10 per cent of offenders, and that these offenders are frequently suffering from substance abuse and psychiatric disorders, the province is launching a "prolific offender pilot project" in five communities.
Building on existing initiatives, the project will begin immediately in Kamloops, Nanaimo, Prince George, Surrey and Victoria (Capital Regional District) and will integrate services from the police, corrections, Crown counsel, health and psychiatric services, the Ministry of Children and Family Development (youth justice), the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance and B.C. Housing.
In effect, then, the project will aim to connect prolific offenders with services that can address the underlying factors that led to their becoming involved in criminal behaviour, including homelessness and psychiatric illnesses.
Such a multi-agency response is necessary and long overdue, but it will only be successful if treatment and housing programs are available and if the various agencies are truly integrated. For example, a variety of police forces, including the Vancouver Police Department, have already developed chronic offender programs where police track offenders closely and also advise them about social services. But these programs have been less than successful in getting offenders into housing or treatment because, after receiving information about available services, offenders are left on their own to access them.
Of course, the police aren't to blame for this situation, since they're not social workers and can't be expected to lead people by the hand through the system. Yet being led by the hand is exactly what many offenders need, particularly during the early stages in their foray into the health care and housing systems. Many people find navigating these systems a bewildering affair, and for offenders who typically have little knowledge of, or trust in, the system, it's almost guaranteed that they will be unsuccessful in availing themselves of help unless they're guided through the process.
Furthermore, offenders will only receive the help they need if that help is readily available. And for those with the most serious problems, such as the many people beset by both mental illness and substance abuse disorders (dual diagnosed), services are sorely lacking.
Nevertheless, it's a positive sign that the provincial government has recognized the importance of an integrated, multi-agency response to the problem of chronic offenders. If the province also ensures that the agencies are sufficiently integrated, and have sufficient resources, then we may be well on our way to solving a problem that has plagued British Columbians for far too long.
Editorial
4 March 2008
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=543e9cb5-5fab-4268-859c-d976e7782451