Saint-Jérôme police officers recognized for their work on addressing sexting among youth

Annual Minister of Justice National Youth Justice Policing Award Presented to Lieutenant Serge Boivin and Constable Robin Pouliot

July 17, 2017 – Montreal, QC – Department of Justice Canada

The Government of Canada recognizes the important role that police officers can play in the lives of youth, including youth who come into conflict with the law. The Youth Criminal Justice Act encourages police to look beyond the formal court system in responding to youth offending.

Today, the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian Police Association and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, congratulates the recipients of the Minister of Justice National Youth Justice Policing Award which was presented to Lieutenant Serge Boivin and Constable Robin Pouliot of the Saint-Jérôme Police Service. This annual award celebrates innovative policing and serves to inform the police and the wider community about creative responses to youth crime.

Lieutenant Boivin and Constable Pouliot have been active members in their community throughout their careers and have seen firsthand the damage that “sexting” can have on young people. Many of the youths they worked with were unaware of the dangers in sending a picture or that this form of self/peer exploitation can be a criminal act. Working together, they created a project to address the issue through rehabilitative and restorative justice measures, youth justice conferences, and an awareness campaign on the dangers of “sexting”. With the understanding that early intervention can be effective in changing the behaviour of youth in trouble with the law, they developed an intervention kit for schools that has a risk evaluation grid that supports school officials to take measures appropriate to each situation.

The winners were recognized yesterday during the opening ceremony of the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police taking place in Montreal, Quebec.

Quotes

“I am pleased to have the opportunity to recognize the tremendous efforts of police officers to find creative solutions to help our country’s youth make smarter choices for their future. Lieutenant Boivin and Constable Pouliot have demonstrated an outstanding level of personal dedication to making a real difference in the lives of youth who might have continued along the wrong path.”
The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

"We know the role that education, prevention and early intervention can have in terms of assisting youth to develop positive choices. This innovative effort by Lieutenant Serge Boivin and Constable Robin Pouliot of the Saint-Jérôme Police Service applies the creative use of such techniques towards combatting a rapidly growing criminal offence - on-line exploitation that can plunge a child's life into crisis. We applaud these officers who show the positive value police officers can have in the lives of our youth and the wider community."  
Directeur Mario Harel, President - Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police

“We’re pleased to work with Justice Canada to recognize some of the outstanding and innovative work done by front-line police professionals across this country. Lieutenant Boivin and Constable Pouliot are just two of the latest examples of how officers work proactively to develop new tools to address community concerns that may not have even been foreseen 10 years ago.”
Tom Stamatakis
President of the Canadian Police Association

Related Products

• Minister of Justice National Youth Justice Policing Award Backgrounder
• Award Recipient 2017
• Minister of Justice National Youth Justice Policing Award - Video 

Associated Links

• Canadian Police Association
• Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police

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