The VPD is committed to supporting vulnerable youth in our community, helping them to access needed services so they are no longer victimized, or helping them make different choices in their lives. We work with our community partners in a collaborative and coordinated effort, to ensure kids get the help they need.
Car 86 – Child Protection
This partnership between the VPD and the B.C. Ministry for Children and Family Development deals with child protection issues of kids from birth to 12 years of age.
Teams consist of an officer and a social worker, and they respond to child welfare matters where violence is an issue, such as domestic disputes and family violence.
Yankee 10: Youth Probation
Working in teams of police officers and youth probation officers, the role of Yankee 10 is to monitor youth who are in conflict with the law. They find and identify high-risk kids, aged 12 and up, and work with other agencies to connect them to services and help keep them on track.
The teams also do curfew checks and enforce bail and probation conditions, when needed.
The Treehouse Vancouver Child and Youth Advocacy Centre
The Treehouse Vancouver Child and Youth Advocacy Centre is a team of specially trained VPD officers, social workers from the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society, and victim support workers from Family Services of Greater Vancouver.
Team members work with children in a safe, child-friendly location to support the investigation and intervention of child abuse.
Yankee 20: High-Risk Youth / Street Youth Intervention Team
These intervention teams work with high-risk and exploited youth aged 12 to 18. Police officers and Ministry for Children and Family Development outreach social workers pair up to provide a coordinated response.
The teams work with many partners and agencies in the community to help ensure the kids receive the resources and services the need, such as Covenant House, Directions, SEY, ONYX, WATARI, UNYA, VACSSS, the Raycam Community Centre, and alternative school programs.
Youth Referral Coordinator
The Youth Criminal Justice Act gives police officers alternatives to criminal charges when dealing with young people committing crimes like vandalism, theft, simple assaults, and mischief.
These alternatives include a warning or caution, referring the youth to a community program to help them not commit crime, or even the option to take no further action.
If these options do not work for the situation, the young person can be referred to the VPD Youth Referral Coordinator. The coordinator recommends a community organization to work with the youth and ensure they are accountable for their actions. This could include a personal apology to any victim(s), or repairing or paying for any damage caused. It might also involve counselling or participation in an after-school sports program, or spending time with a mentor.
The goal is to have the young person held accountable to their community, or to the community they have harmed, and divert them away from the courts by getting them involved in something positive in the community.
