A very important part of this is remedial programs that identify youth at risk and intervene to help overcome problems that come from abuse or neglect. We must also involve the community in a broad-based partnership to attack the causes of crime. The National Crime Prevention Council that was created by this government is an important aspect of such a partnership. I was very pleased recently to see that the Council was given international recognition and welcomed as a positive development in a United Nations' report dealing with the Rights of the Child. This recognition is broadly shared since the National Crime Prevention Council comprises volunteer members from all areas of the criminal justice field, including police and victims' groups.
Police also play a key role in our crime prevention efforts.
Community policing models bring law enforcement and the community into closer contact at an informal level that is not restricted to traditional law enforcement activities. And there are other options to incarceration that should be examined. These involve areas of provincial as well as federal responsibility. Diversion programs can be instituted either before or after a charge is laid. These programs are based on the belief that in many cases the full weight and cost of the criminal justice system is not required to achieve the objectives of the law or the community.