B.C. recognized 19 local crime fighters today with Community Safety and Crime Prevention awards, including an 88-year woman, a police officer who started a youth wrestling program, and a doctor who teaches students about sexual exploitation.

Attorney General and Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton congratulated the winners at the 16th annual Ministry of Justice Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards, held in Burnaby. Each year, the awards are given to people and organizations for their courage to stand up to crime and exemplary leadership in community safety and crime prevention.

The highest honour of the day, the Anthony J. Hulme Award of Distinction, went to Terrance (Terry) Moist of Campbell River for his 36 years of volunteer work with at-risk youth and the John Howard Society of North Island.

This year’s Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards lead into B.C.’s Crime Prevention Week, Nov. 1-7.

Quotes:

Attorney General and Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton -

“This inspirational group of local heroes shows us that, year after year, our greatest crime fighters are often the people we see every day in our own neighbourhoods. We can all take part in creating safe communities and protecting our homes, school, and work places. To the award winners, on behalf of your neighbours, your communities, and our province, thank you.”

BC Crime Prevention Association (BCCPA) president Rob Smith -

“The theme of this year's BCCPA Crime Prevention Symposium, ‘Responsibility + Action = Power’, recognizes that it is important for everyone within a community to take responsibility for their community's wellbeing and, by doing so, they might find a sense of empowerment. We congratulate all of this year's Crime Prevention Award recipients and nominees. It is through their efforts and leadership that the ideals of community policing can flourish, encouraging others to take on a measure of responsibility and finding within themselves the ability to improve lives through the prevention of crime.”

Quick Facts:

• B.C. has proclaimed Nov. 1-7, Crime Prevention Week to raise awareness of crime prevention strategies and highlight British Columbians who have contributed to community safety.
• Ministry of Justice Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards are jointly hosted by the BCCPA and the Ministry of Justice.
• The Anthony J. Hulme Award of Distinction honours a crime prevention practitioner, volunteer or group for their extraordinary lifetime contribution and commitment to crime prevention and community safety. Hulme was an original founder of the BCCPA.

A full list of the 2014 award winners is in the backgrounder that follows.

Media Contacts:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Justice
250 213-3602

BACKGROUNDER

2014 Community Safety and Crime Prevention Award Winners

Below is a list of the 2014 winners of the Ministry of Justice Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards. More detailed descriptions can be found online at: http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/crimeprevention/awards/

Terrance (Terry) Moist - Campbell River
Terry Moist is described as a supportive, guiding hand, and visionary with the view that at-risk youth need enhanced services. He has demonstrated his long term commitment to crime prevention, restorative justice, and community safety by volunteering for 36 years on the board of directors of the John Howard Society of North Island.

Abbotsford Restorative Justice and Advocacy Association - Abbotsford
With a small core group of staff supported by over 70 volunteers and with more than 1,100 cases since 2003, the Abbotsford Restorative Justice and Advocacy Association is dedicated to finding innovative ways to impart and engage in restorative values, practices and interventions for the citizens of Abbotsford and beyond.

Helen (Jean) Grant - Abbotsford
At 88 years old, Jean Grant is an exemplary model of volunteer commitment in Abbotsford. She has been involved in crime prevention and community safety since 1992 when she joined forces with the former Matsqui Police to form a volunteer group called Seniors Help and Awareness.

Ann Davis Transition Society - Chilliwack
For more than 30 years, the Ann Davis Transition Society (ADTS) has exemplified leadership in community safety and crime prevention by offering shelter and support to women and children leaving abusive situations. ADTS provided services to more than 2,600 clients last year, 600 of whom were children.

Community Justice Centre - Courtenay
For over 16 years, the Community Justice Centre (CJC) has been an innovative, community-based restorative justice program. CJC has trained rosters of certified facilitators for incidents involving racism, homophobia and hate crime, as well as elders to support Aboriginal clients, business representatives who act on behalf of small-business, and translators for 18 languages.

Carol-Ann Rolls, North Cowichan RCMP - Duncan
Now retired from the RCMP, Carol-Ann Rolls has been the coordinator of volunteers for the Cowichan Region Community Policing and Crime Prevention Society since 2003. She is responsible for the training and supervision of approximately 100 volunteers who work in partnership with the RCMP.

Safe Youth Cowichan, Safer Futures - Duncan
For two years, this group of young citizens has been engaging youth, working with schools and local governments and collaborating with social agencies and committees. They speak out to educate others on issues such as street harassment, stereotypes, racism, differences between genders, transportation, design of community environments, and safety for youth.

Hope Crime Prevention Society - Hope
The volunteer-led, non-profit society has 55 members and runs several programs including a night patrol, day patrol, tunnel watch, Block Watch and Speed Watch. The programs have been successful largely because of the commitment of their volunteers. Between 2012 and 2013, property crime in the Hope area decreased by 17%.

Constable Joshua Smith, Lytton RCMP - Lytton
Const. Smith identified the local community resources and support for a youth wrestling program in 2013. A year later, he was able to secure the necessary funds to purchase high quality wrestling mats and launched the wrestling program, which is open to youth in Lytton, Skuppah, Nicomen, Kanaka Bar and Siska First Nations, and the surrounding villages.

Pat Lunzmann - Merritt
Pat Lunzmann started the Speed Watch program in the Nicola Valley in 1996 and has been raising awareness about speeding and supporting road safety programs in her community with great passion ever since. She has developed close working relationships with ICBC, the Central Interior Traffic Services (Merritt Division), and First Nations partners.

Dr. Claire Vanston - Nanaimo
Dr. Vanston has worked in adolescent crime prevention, prevention of sexual exploitation, sexual empowerment, and youth advocacy for the last six years. She has developed new evidence-based curriculum for elementary and high school students about healthy relationships and age appropriate discussions on sexual consent, sexual privacy and personal responsibility.

Jodie McNeice - Port Coquitlam
Jodie McNeice has been an avid crime prevention and community safety practitioner for more than 15 years in her role as Port Coquitlam Community Police manager. She is actively involved with the anti-bullying campaign ‘I Am Someone’, and was also the recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 in recognition of her work.

Wendy Kellas - Prince George
Wendy Kellas is the manager of the Highway of Tears Initiative at Carrier Sekani Family Services in Prince George. The initiative aims to support families and communities in their efforts towards health and vibrancy, and to educate Aboriginal community members and service providers about the potential dangers of hitchhiking along Highway 16.

FortisBC - Surrey
FortisBC has worked with the John Howard Society of Central and South Okanagan to develop the Residential Energy Efficiency Works Program (REnEW) program. Under program manager Ned Georgy, REnEW provides training in the energy efficiency retrofit industry to those with criminal records. Results include a 70% rate of employment for graduates.

Sergeant Lindsey Houghton - Surrey
Sgt. Lindsey Houghton has been key in redefining the media relations officer program and anti-gang strategy at the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit - BC over the past year. In December 2013, Sgt. Houghton was instrumental in the launch of the “End Gang Life” media campaign, a bold anti-gang campaign designed to give gangsters pause about their lifestyle choices.

Detective Constable Jim Fisher, Vancouver Police Department - Vancouver
Det. Const. Fisher was the lead investigator in the recent human trafficking investigation of Reza Moazami conducted by the Vancouver Police Counter Exploitation Unit. In September 2014, Moazami was convicted of 30 counts of prostitution and sex assault related offences involving 11 young women between 14 and 19 years old.

Danny Gelmon - Vancouver
Danny Gelmon has been a member of Citizens Crime Watch since 1993 and plays an integral role in the training and recruiting of new volunteers. He has attended close to 900 Citizens Crime Watch patrols, equalling more than 5,300 volunteer hours. He has also been a member of the Bait Car team and a volunteer with the Downtown Granville Community Police Centre.

The KidSafe Project Society - Vancouver
The KidSafe Project Society was launched in 1993 in response to a tragedy that saw an eight year old child assaulted and abandoned in a vacant apartment during school break. To date, the society has provided over one million nutritious meals and 2.6 million hours of safety, support, and programming during school breaks at six inner-city elementary schools in Vancouver.

Mary Manning Centre - Victoria
Since 1984, the Mary Manning Centre has provided counselling services to child survivors of sexual abuse. The Mary Manning Centre makes its services accessible to all, accommodating the needs of both children and parents and has helped thousands of people - children, youth and families - to heal and recover.

Media Contacts:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Justice
250 213-3602