January Members’ Meeting

This month we will host a presentation from Nicole Nunes, the Community Safety Liaison with The City of Edmonton’s Neighbourhood Empowerment Team in Southeast.  The Neighbourhood Empowerment Team (NET) is a partnership between the City of Edmonton, Edmonton Police Service, the Family Centre, and United Way of the Alberta Capital Region.

Their role is to identify recurring situations which affect community safety and works with residents, businesses, and organizations on sustainable solutions NET has learned that outstanding warrants can be a barrier for women involved in domestically abusive situations.  This concern was identified to their team by a youth outreach worker who indicated that many of the women he works with are not calling the police because they had outstanding warrants or conditions. He highlighted a number of examples of victims who have called him to be picked up from a residence or hotel where they were assaulted, and who were unwilling to call the police for this reason.

In doing some very preliminary scans to assess the extent of this issue through surveying both those impacted by family violence and the agencies who serve them, NET has learned that although outstanding warrants are not the most significant barrier to reporting, it still is one of many.

Amongst the potential responses to this specific issue, one option is providing women the ability to proactively address their warrants. The Alternative to Warrants Apprehension Program (AWAP) is one such mechanism. AWAP provides individuals an alternative access point to voluntarily resolve specific outstanding offenses and warrants. The AWAP agency guide is attached for more detailed information.  At present, this program is designed for those involved in the Housing First Program, but there is a willingness from the Crown’s Office to explore modifying this program for those who may be in domestically abusive situations.