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Serious Habitual Offenders: Calgary's Answer

NCJ Number
164922
Journal
Gazette Volume: 58 Issue: 7 & 8 Dated: (July/August 1996) Pages: 5-6
Author(s)
E A Yeomans
Date Published
1996
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article describes Calgary's (Canada) use of the Serious Habitual Offenders Comprehensive Action Program (SHOCAP) to deal with chronic habitual juvenile and adult offenders.
Abstract
After researching numerous established programs, SHOCAP was selected in 1988 as the most appropriate for the needs of the Calgary Police Service. As developed by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1983, SHOCAP is designed to coordinate all police and community resources to identify, apprehend, and effectively control chronic habitual young offenders. In January 1989, a Calgary interagency planning committee was formed to promote the involvement of community agencies and to establish the criteria for designating serious habitual offenders (SHO's). The committee established the SHOCAP mandate, which was to develop an interagency response to chronic, habitual young offenders. SHOCAP is an information and case management program that involves the police, probation, schools, prosecution, social services, and corrections authorities. Overall, it enables the juvenile justice system to focus on young offenders who repeatedly commit serious crimes. In Calgary, a juvenile offender will be considered for the program if he/she meets the following criteria: conviction for three or more offenses, including at least one in the past year; and has accumulated more than 51 points, based on prosecutor- validated charges. Offenses are assigned to one of three categories, with each category having a determined point value. The police component of SHOCAP is a specialized police unit. The unit aims to curtail the criminal activity of identified SHO's by obtaining information, developing intelligence packages, and targeting and investigating SHO activities. SHO's are continually monitored when they are placed in the program. Once a SHO is arrested, the investigator provides a show cause report. Vertical prosecution of SHO's ensures a close liaison with the prosecutor's office. SHOCAP is also designed to achieve the most suitable sentence for the young offender. This does not necessarily mean a substantial period of incarceration; an effort is made to address the root cause of the youth's criminal behavior. In September 1994, the program was extended to adult career criminals. Although in its early stages, the adult program is experiencing success similar to the juvenile program, as shown by the increase in the number of adult SHO's incarcerated.