Rehabilitation-first court model to be expanded into Barrie. What it means for the Ontario city
Global News
How crime is approached in the justice system in Barrie could start to look a lot different, with the city the latest to be approved to pilot an alternative court model.
How crime is approached in the justice system in Barrie, Ont., could start to look a lot different, with the city the latest in the province to be approved to pilot an alternative court model.
A new integrated approach to crime known as a community justice centre, already operating four pilots in Ontario, has been approved to open in Barrie.
The Community Justice Centre will work in tandem with a social services hub, already in the works, to look at how to address the root causes of crime versus just punishing offenders.
“I think we can all appreciate, especially after COVID, there is an increase in mental health and homelessness. Criminal charges aren’t going to solve that problem – it’s never going to solve our problem,” said Valarie Gates, an Inspector with Barrie Police.
“That’s how we’ve done it for years, and we’re still in the same place, so I think our community is ready to look at a different approach, a more humane approach, a more holistic approach that sets people up for this type of approach to failure.”
Gates could not comment on if the funding was approved yet but did speak about its potential for the community. Global News has confirmed, through access to information requests, that Ottawa has agreed to pay Ontario $11 million over four years to expand four community justice centres in the province and open a fifth.
In 2022, officials working for the Ontario attorney general submitted a grant application to their federal counterparts. It asked for $11 million over four years to expand four community justice centres in the province and open a fifth in Barrie.
With courts experiencing a backlog of cases and the current system not doing enough to address repeat offenders, Gates said it’s time to start looking at addressing the issue in a different way.
