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The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday November 28, 2001 - A5 Project aims at turning lives around for boys under 12 yearsof-age By Angela Blackburn O A K V IL L E B E A V E R S T A F F H a l t o n S e a r c h . c V m A new Halton Regional Police Program that aims to turn youths -- under 12 -- around when they get into trouble with the law is for boys only. That's because the Under 12 Project only works with boys, said Superintendent Dan Okuloski, who outlined the program at Thursday's Halton Police Services Board meeting. It's among the first of its kind for children under 12 and it received $185,000 in federal funding last week. The project mirrors another in Toronto called the Earl's Court Project. It will see police partner with the local Children's Assessment & Treatment Centre (CATC) to provide group work for boys based on the SNAP (Stop Now and Plan) philosophy. Through group work boys will learn to communicate with out resorting to unacceptable actions, such as the whack in the nose, that got them into trouble in the first place, explained Okuloski. Girls get into trouble the same as boys, said Okuloski, how ever, group work doesn't succeed with them. "It's an odd thing. It surprised me, but it just doesn't work. They have tried," admitted Okuloski, speculating that perhaps age has something to do with it. "If girls exhibit aggressive behavior, they don't change as a result of group work. The group interaction is not successful for girls. One-on-one works better with them," said Okuloski. The first Halton groups should get going in February, in Oakville. Burlington and north Halton. "We hope to touch 90 families a year that we would call high risk," said Okuloski. The program is voluntary, but will be suggested, strongly, in suitable circumstances by schools or police. Groups will consist of eight to 10 youths, and parent groups will meet, separately, at the same time. "I think some great things will come out of this," said Okuloski. "We can't keep incarcerating people," said board member Donald Robinson. While youths under 12 can't ordinarily be put in jail, Okuloski said if they eventually go that route it doesn't help. "When young people go to jail, they just learn more criminal behavior," he said. Parental involvement is key, he said. It should all go a long way when the Young Offenders Act is replaced by the Youth Criminal Justice Act next year. Bill C-7 is currently at the Senate and its philosophy is to keep youths out of the traditional court system for most offens es. "If there's a question of community safety, they'll go through the formal process," assured Okulosld. And if diversion programs don't work or are refused, there's always the option of going back and laying charges. "I don't think the transition (to the Youth Criminal Justice Act) will be that substantial. We're there now," said Okuloski. The Under 12 Project is one of the newest options the Halton police have at their disposal. Yet another program coming on stream is one called Conferencing. That will see a group of parents, police, offenders and vic tims, sit down together at a host church to discuss the crime. It begins in December. Also, in Oakville, statistics show that less than 5% of more than 400 local youths, who passed through the Youth Diversion Program in its first few years re-offended. That program steers youths away from re-offending through positive influences in everything from family life and education, to employment, housing and recreation. It sees youths enter into a three-month contract featuring offender-appropriate conditions from codes of behaviour (like keeping the peace, attending school, and meeting a curfew) to performing community service, making restitution, or attending counseling. 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