Forfeiture grants extended to anti-bullying projects

VANCOUVER – Schools, police agencies and community groups that are working to combat bullying can now apply to share in the up to $1 million in grants from civil forfeiture proceeds that were announced last week.
This expansion of the grant eligibility criteria follows yesterday’s anti-bullying summit in Vancouver, where parents, educators, police, students safety experts and other attendees received an update on B.C.’s  ERASE Bullying strategy and shared their ideas about additional counter-measures.
Bullying prevention is the latest high-profile community safety goal to receive timely support from civil forfeiture proceeds.
Earlier this year, government responded to a spike in deaths linked to the use of ecstasy,  supporting five police and community-led projects to help raise awareness among youth about the drug’s dangers.
In the current round of grants, government will also consider projects focussed on preventing youth involvement in crime, combating human trafficking and sexual exploitation, preventing family violence and  violence against women, and community crime prevention.
Applications are now open, as of today, and more details are at:  www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/crimeprevention/grants/index.htm
Since 2006, B.C. has sought the forfeiture of an array of cash sums, cars, helicopters, properties and other assets with alleged links to unlawful activity – predominantly drug and organised crime.
The B.C. government’s ERASE Bullying strategy is designed to help prevent, identify and stop harmful behaviours by children and adults – whether online, at school or in the community.
• The strategy includes anti-bullying training for about 15,000 educators and community partners over the next five years.
• Civil forfeiture’s core goal is deterring and interrupting unlawful activity by taking away the tools and proceeds of that activity.
• Civil forfeiture can be pursued after the criminal forfeiture process has been exhausted or if a decision has been made not to pursue criminal  forfeiture.
The process begins with the referral of a case file to the  Civil Forfeiture Office by a policing or public safety agency.

Follow

Comments

comments