THUNDER BAY -- Local youth crime appears to be tumbling but those who are doing the crime are not necessarily doing the time.
The Thunder Bay Crime Prevention Council presented its Snapshot In Time report to city council on Monday. Along with the disclosure that domestic violence incidents in the city have doubled since 2004, the document expresses youth crime fell 30 per cent between 2014 and 2015.
It also reinforced a reversal in a long-standing trend that showed violent crime has become more prominent than property crime. For the second consecutive year, more local young people per 100,000 were charged with violent offences than property offences.
Thunder Bay Police Deputy Chief Andy Hay said laying criminal charges against youth is up to the discretion of the officer. That makes it unlike domestic assault, a crime for which charges are consistently pressed.
Hay pointed to schools handling issues in-house, holistic and restorative justice approaches to youth crime, and diversion programs as alternatives that are distorting youth crime statistics.
While he feels young people are anecdotally committing less crime, he recognizes the effect diversion is having on traditional crime indicators.
"When it says a 30 per cent drop, that's in charges. Did we actually drop 30 per cent in youth crime? Probably not," Hay said.
"It's an indicator that we're moving in the right direction but we're not going to rest our laurels on the fact that there's a 30 per cent recorded drop because that drop might not be 30 per cent."
The Snapshot In Time report illustrates relationships between risk factors and crime. Those include elements such as substance use, low education, unemployment, mental health, low income and homelessness.
Crime Prevention Council coordinator Lee-Ann Chevrette expressed confidence diversion programs have a productive impact on those indicators, despite recognizing those programs aren't tracked as part of youth crime.
She praised youth hubs at the library as she cited youth surveys that have clearly called for more spaces like youth hubs and youth centres.
"I believe that perhaps what we're seeing in the significant drop from 2014 to 2015 and a few years before that may be the result of additional options as opposed to charging youth," Chevrette said.
"Different supports can help youth to address some of the issues they may be facing or some services to support them as opposed to bringing them into the criminal justice system, which further creates risk for them."
