Early Thursday morning, Red Deer RCMP thanked some of their important community partners in the field of youth intervention.

Representatives from the John Howard Society and Central Alberta Child and Family Services were thanked for all they do, and as Marilyn Shand with Child and Family Services says, the restorative justice program allows offenders to see exactly how their actions affect individuals as well as the community.

“Hurt people, hurt people. Through the restorative justice process you can see why they are hurt, and the people that are hurt can talk about how they felt. Cause I think a lot of times they don’t realize what impact their behaviour has on others, and so if they hear that directly from the person who is harmed, that can have more of an impact than going through court and having a judge say, this is what’s going to happen.”

She says when different groups with similar goals work together, they can employ their tactics in a combined effort to help at risk youth make smarter decisions, and help offenders learn from their mistakes.

“The relationship we have with the RCMP is huge because you can get to youth faster, you think out of the box, you can use harm reduction, just that whole collaborative approach is very very helpful.”

The John Howard Society is a Canadian non-profit organization that seeks to develop understanding and effective responses to the problem of crime and prison reform.

(L-R) Red Deer RCMP Superintendent Ken Foster; Marilyn Shand; and Corporal Karyn Kay, Red Deer RCMP.