Collaborative Policing: A Case Study of the Red Deer Domestic Violence Collaborative Court Program

Canadian police agencies are increasingly expected to collaborate with community agencies to resolve or prevent crime but little empirical evidence documents the complexities of these partnerships. This exploratory case study addresses this gap by examining the Domestic Violence Collaborative Court Program (DVCCP) in Red Deer, Alberta. DVCCP is a response to domestic violence initiated by partnerships among the police, the judicial system, as well as social and community services. Twelve DVCCP agency representatives and three DVCCP clients were interviewed. The interviews reveal that although the benefits of collaboration clearly prevail, several challenges were identified. The benefits include: information sharing, consensus decision-making, providing clients with a continuum of service, and connecting clients with the collaborative. The challenges consist of: large time-commitment, sustainability of consistent funding, and unintended impacts of independent organizational decision-making. This paper contributes to collaborative policing literature by suggesting practical recommendations for success for existing or new community partnerships.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Graduate Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Wang, Lucy Meng Yi

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Gibbs-Van Brunschot, Erin

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Gibbs Van Brunschot, Erin
• Adorjan, Michael
• Miller, Byron

• Education--Social Sciences
• Criminology and Penology
• Sociology--Organizational

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/25351

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:11023/2712