Cranbrook city council has approved a $50,000 youth program to build stronger relationships between students in School District 5 (SD5) and local RCMP.
The one-time funding is being provided by SD5, with no added cost to the city’s budget.
The money will fund a temporary Community Engagement Coordinator working two days a week for one year, based at the Cranbrook RCMP detachment.
The part-time coordinator will organize youth-focused initiatives, including classroom sessions that are designed to educate, engage and empower students.
Manager of Police Support Services and Bylaw Services, Amanda Peters, said the Cranbrook RCMP and SD5 partnership demonstrates commitment on both ends to developing a safer community.
“This investment reflects a shared commitment to trust, prevention, education and positive engagement. It also recognizes that strong relationships between young people and law enforcement are essential to building healthy, resilient, and safe communities,” said Peters.
Classroom sessions could cover online safety, cyberbullying, substance use, healthy relationships, consent and handling peer pressure.
Activities could include sports and recreation events, lunches with officers, leadership workshops and community projects, along with events outside school.
The program would mainly serve middle and high school students, giving them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with different police officers.
Peters explains that youth engagement is one of the most effective long term strategies for crime prevention.
“Positive police youth relationships contribute to safer schools, increased trust in law enforcement, improved reporting of crime and victimization, and stronger community resilience.” said Peters
The initiative has five main objectives which include:
- Strengthen Relationships Between Youth and Police,
- Reduce Youth Crime and Victimization,
- Increase Youth Confidence in Reporting Concerns and Seeking Support,
- Enhance Meaningful School Engagement,
- Strengthen Community Partnerships
These objectives provide a guideline for the coordinator to develop the program with the overall goal of helping prevent youth crime, while making young people more comfortable reporting bullying, sharing safety concerns and asking for help.
The part-time coordinator will work closely with the full-time Community Engagement Coordinator, School Liaison/Youth Officer, school administrators, educators, RCMP members and community partners to develop the program.
Peters said remaining funds from SD5 would cover program activities and supplies.
“Any remaining funding would be used to support program implementation costs such as printed materials, supplies and other youth engagement expenses,” said Peters.
The initiative’s success would be measured by participation and feedback from students, schools and community partners on how well the program worked for them.
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