Youth Intervention Program (YIP)

Since 1995, the Youth Intervention Program (YIP) has been has been diverting young people away from a life of crime and redirecting them out of the criminal justice system to make healthier decisions. 

The program works with an average of 300 at-risk youth per year. It has three full time counsellors who work within the city’s five District Offices and provide counselling, family support, and referrals to youth who have been involved in conflict or crime. Referrals to the program are made by police officers who encounter youth during their calls for service.

YIP counsellors speak to many teens who are at a crossroads in their lives. The goal of the program is to provide early intervention services to reduce criminal behavior among young people in Surrey.

Frequent recidivism checks are done on those youth who complete the program, which does have a high rate of success deterring participants from future criminality. Almost 97% of youth who complete the Youth Intervention Program are not charged with any criminal acts within the first 12 months of completion.

 

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