CRIME PREVENTION WEEK: NOVEMBER 7 - 13, 2010

"Connecting with Kids Today - Preventing Crime Tomorrow"

ORILLIA, ON, Nov. 7 /CNW/ - The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) recognizes that community engagement is a key component of crime prevention and that working with our youth today to prevent crime tomorrow is an essential element of an effective crime prevention strategy.     

The OPP conducts a variety of programs designed to work with youth to strengthen relationships and promote crime prevention through school-based and community-based activities. Through community partnerships, officers reward youth who demonstrate good decision making through effective initiatives such as the Positive Ticketing Program.      

"Policing and bringing criminals to justice is an expensive business.  The dollars and human resources we put into effective crime prevention now will be much less than what we will need to police and house criminals later if we don't practice effective crime prevention," said OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis.           

"We need to help steer youth away from destructive lifestyle choices that potentially lead them to crime, thus we need effective crime prevention where the risks of criminality start." said OPP Deputy Commissioner Larry Beechey.               

It is a collective responsibility to increase Internet safety across our communities.  As such, the OPP will be launching a unique new program during Crime Prevention Week that empowers parents to protect themselves and their children against Internet crime.           .

Educating and assisting parents and children to be more aware of their own safety and being proactive in eliminating the opportunity for crime, reflects the OPP's ongoing dedication to its vision statement of Safe communities - A Secure Ontario.  .           

Crime Prevention…It's everyone's business.          

For more information on crime prevention tips please contact your local OPP Detachment.   

More details about the OPP Crime Prevention Section and crime-proofing may be found online at: http://www.opp.ca/ecms/index.php?id=47         

For more information about the Positive Ticketing Program, go to: http://www.opp.ca/ecms/index.php?id=510

For further information:

Contact:	Inspector Mark Allen Manager, Crime Prevention Section
Phone:	705-329- 6435