A concerned resident appeared before Thompson council at their July 15 meeting to ask what is being done to prevent youth crime in the city and whether they are considering implementing a youth curfew like the one Thompson had for two years from 2005 to 2007.
Rita Werstroh, who ran unsuccessfully for council in last October’s municipal election, said that while she was recently out of town, children aged 10 or 11 years old were apprehended after sneaking through her yard and trying to break into her neighbour’s property using bolt cutters at 5 a.m.
“What is being done about this and how are we supposed to protect our properties from children at five o’clock in the morning with bolt cutters?” she asked.
City manager Anthony McInnis said the city is currently training three community safety officers to join the two who are currently on staff and that they could be on the job as early as the first week of August if they pass all their training courses. He also said that the city is working with the province on a $300,000 public safety strategy
“The major focus out of our initial meetings with the province and RCMP is targeting youth, providing outlets for youth, providing training, providing mentorship or any other sorts of programs such as Street Reach that can go out and interact with the youth so it’s not necessarily straight to police but then to complement what police are doing in the community,” said McInnis.
Deputy mayor Kathy Valentino, who chaired the meeting because Mayor Colleen Smook was in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, said the Street Reach team from Winnipeg was in Thompson on Nickel Days weekend and will be back in August, September and October to assist with tracking down children and youth who are AWOL from foster and group homes.
“That helps with the youth that are supposed to be under curfew and in their designated homes after the 10 p.m. curfew," Valentino said.
Werstroh asked if a curfew for all children and youth was being considered.
“Is there going to be a curfew implemented? I think it’s about time and I’m wondering when people are going to wake up and know that this is what’s needed so they can have consequences and not just be patted on the hand and say, ‘Oh, are you OK?’ That’s the question the RCMP asked this child. ‘Are you OK?’ Well, I’m not OK with them running through my yard and I want to know when something’s going to be done about it.”
“There is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that does say that they cannot discriminate against a person based on age,” said McInnis. “That was attempted, it couldn’t move forward but we have reached out to our legal counsel and are receiving legal advice about what our options are within the community of Thompson.”
A youth curfew bylaw passed in Thompson in 2005 was repealed in May 2007 after a legal challenge regarding its constitutionality was launched.
McInnis said many of Werstroh’s questions about how foster parents are evaluated and who makes the decision where to place children are also being asked by the city.
“Those are things that are not under the city’s jurisdiction but those are conversations that we’re having with the provincial counterparts that are in charge of some of those programs that are out in the community,” he said.
“If we have a community watch program can we detain these children?” asked Werstroh. “Can we stop them and say, ‘OK you gotta fess up, you gotta do whatever?’ Where are we, as a city, going with this? These things you’re telling me have been told to us multiple times over the years and nothing is being done and I want to know when it’s going to be dealt with.”
