Crime rates plummet when sports camps visit

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When Corporal Paul Currie and friends flew into the small, northern Manitoba community, crime dropped 78 per cent.

In other northern villages that the RCMP officer visited, vandalism statistics plummeted as much as 49 per cent.

Currie was astounded.

The 23-year RCMP Sports Camp board member expected some positive

response to the fledgling sports program developed to serve Native youth in remote Manitoba communities.

But Currie and the other volunteers got more than they bargained for that summer when the camps first took to the air and visited Cross Lake and St. Theresa Point, Currie told his audience at the Healing our Spirit Worldwide conference.

"This just about blew me out of the water," he said, referring to the drop in

crime statistics when the camp was held. "We would have been happy with a five

or 10-per-cent decrease."

Currie is still part of the sports and recreation program which started in the two small communities. Since then, the RCMP single-engined Otter aircraft has added 21 more stops on its route, including villages as remote as Pauingassi near the Ontario border and Pukatawagan on the Saskatchewan side. In all communities, the results have been gratifying, Currie said. The program clearly illustrated for him the maxim "The youth who shoots basket doesn't shoot people, and the youth who's stealing second base isn't out stealing cars."

Northern Fly-In Sports Camps (NFISC) involve Native youth and local community workers in a unique and ground-breaking partnership with RCMP, university and college-trained recreation professionals from the south. The recreation workers fly in and set up summer activities for the community's youth, and employ Native youth as leaders-in-training. Activities include water, boat and ice safety, creative arts, camping skills, team sports and co-operative games. Leaders encourage progressive skills development and culturally relevant activities, and use existing and accessible materials that are available in the community.

The leader-in-training segment fosters leadership skills through practical experience, weekly workshops, feedback and evaluations. Benefit comes not only

from a drop in crime while youth are involved in some activity, said Currie, but through the development of self-esteem, communication and interaction with others.

Native youth also begin to see the idea of further education as something tangible when they work "arm in arm, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder" with those who have that benefit.

One of the most important aspects of the program is development of Native leaders, Currie said. Often, wile investigating a break-and-enter in a northern community, he would find not one but 10 or 12 young people had been involved. Someone had to

be the leader, and those leadership skills could be put to better use, Currie thought.

"I figured that organizational skills are being displayed there, so let's direct that energy and skill in a positive manner," he said. "Our future is our youth and we have to train them."

In his travels around Native communities, Currie heard elders, leaders and councillors tell police "your job is the prevention of crime, not the apprehension of the offender." The concept isn't new, Currie said. It was pioneered by the founder of the London, England police services, one Sir Robert Peel. Peel, like the northern Native leaders, stressed that police had to get the community involved in programs or they wouldn't work.

"Peel said when police fail in prevention of crime, they fill up jails," said Currie.

With prevention in mind, currie is sure programs like the NFISC can be "one of the small steps on the road to recovery" for Native communities.

During summer months, there is 16-20 recreation professionals that are assigned

to the 23 communities. Their work is supplemented by many community members who volunteer time.

NFISC was started by University of Manitoba physical education professor Neil Winther in response to community demand, cupled with his own knowledge of the lack of activity for Native youth garnered during Winther's years teaching in the north.

Communities become involved in NFISC by applying and then meeting with a NFISC committee. Once the program need is established, the community provides accommodation for the NFISC team, ensures equipment and facilities are available (much equipment is donated), and provides transportation where needed within the community. NFISC is administered by a board of directors representing agencies, community leaders and RCMP.