SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - It's hoped that federal funding for three crime prevention programs in Yellowknife will help improve the lives of at-risk youth and prevent violence in the home.

Peter Van Loan, Minister of Public Safety, announced $9.3 million in funding for five territorial crime prevention projects, three of which will benefit Yellowknife. The funding will provide at-risk youth with alternatives to a life of crime and professionals in the field with the tools they need to enhance community safety.

"One of the priorities of this government is to make sure that our communities and streets are safe," Van Loan said at the press conference Friday.

The Coalition Against Family Violence received $159,939 over 15 months to help develop a program to target men who are at high risk of being violent in an intimate relationship. Lydia Bardak, a member of the coalition, said while the money is great for crime prevention, compared to what is spent on the penal system, it's not enough.

"Of the money the government of the NWT and federal government spend on policing, corrections and crime prevention, I mean, $9 million is great, but of that money how much will we be spending on courts, police and corrections?" she said, adding any groups seeking funding go through a tough process, something that should be applied to the court and policing system. "I've never heard of a correctional facility being evaluated. It just removes the person from society so they don't commit more crimes.

"If corrections and courts were to go through the same level of evaluation as NGOs, you'd see some changes happening."

The funds will aide in the research and development of a Northern-based domestic violence prevention program. Once completed, the society will commission a non-governmental organization to develop the full program for later use by Northern aboriginal communities.

Bardak said the John Howard Society, which she is the executive director, said they would make a request to run the program once developed.

"Certainly, there is definitely interest from our board to say yes, lets take a stab at it," she said.

The largest sum of money - $7.1 million over 60 months - went to Yellowknife Catholic Schools and their program, Leadership and Resiliency. The program works with youth between the ages of six and 19 who are at risk of criminal involvement.

Its aim is to develop positive relationships and coping strategies to help youth set goals through community involvement and training.

The community justice division of the Department of Justice got $165,890 over 15 months to fund a project that will help crime prevention practitioners develop professional relationships with each other.