New youth probation office draws ire from community
The Youth Justice Services Division of the provincial Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) will open its newest probationary office - providing community supervision to young offenders aged 12 to 17 who have been ordered by the courts to serve community sentences - in a strip mall at 2140 Kipling Ave. later this month.
The news upset Linda Walker, a local parent whose children attend St. Benedict Catholic School - one of four schools within a 1.5-km radius of the office (the others are Monseigneur Percy Johnson, West Humber Junior Middle School and Mississauga Private School).
"It's not that we don't want these kids helped, we know there's a need, but it's all about preventative measures," she said. "It'll almost be like a recruitment office - 'hey wanna buy some drugs? Wanna steal a car?' These kids have already crossed that line and I don't see why we have to expose our innocent children to that kind of influence."
Walker said the location is far from ideal, not only because of its proximity to schools, but also because it will be situated in the same plaza as a Wendy's restaurant where students from all four schools tend to congregate on their lunch hour and after school.
"It's a safe environment now, but it's unsupervised. It's doesn't make sense to put it there," she said. "None of us want it there."
That sentiment was echoed by Ward 2 (Etobicoke North) Councillor Rob Ford, who recently wrote a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty asking that the government reconsider its location - potentially to a nearby industrial area.
"My constituents are extremely concerned with the possibility of this office being placed in their neighbourhood, as am I," he wrote. "The ward I represent is going through a revitalization process which I believe would be greatly hindered by the introduction of such an office. Under no circumstances do I want this office being opened in my ward."
But according to MCYS spokesperson Erika Botond, the location of the office - which she said will staff as many as 11 workers - was chosen for a variety of factors, including accessibility, availability of public transit and location in a "storefront" building open to the public. Site selection for such offices also depends on geographical considerations and market availability, she added.
Etobicoke North MPP Shafiq Qaadri said the addition of another probation office in Etobicoke - there are currently two others, located at 2201 Finch Ave. W. and 25 Woodbine Downs Blvd. - is part of the government's ongoing commitment "to make communities safer, more secure places to live, work and play".
"Wherever possible, probation offices are located locally in the communities they serve in order to better serve their clients and their families, and to strengthen our partnerships with schools, community agencies and police services," he told the Guardian in an e-mail statement last week.
Young people under probation and community supervision, Botond assured, are those whom the courts have seen fit to serve community-based sentences, which often include conditions for the young person to attend school, to seek and/or maintain employment, to attend other community-based rehabilitative programs, to complete community service orders or pay restitution.
According to MCYS, programs and services offered through youth justice probation offices may be provided through partnerships with communities, with other ministries and with other levels of government. Other community-based professionals may also attend the office, including lawyers, social workers, counsellors, police officers and psychologists.
