As part of National Victims of Crime Awareness Week, SIAST Palliser Campus was home to a luncheon Tuesday focused on stopping violence in the community.

Guest Speaker from the Ministry of Justice, Tom Fulcher spoke about the Safer Communities & Neighbourhoods Act, which has led to a number of home seizures and investigations right here in the Friendly City. "Sine 2005, I think we've probably done about 30 or so homes in the Moose Jaw area, that we've investigated. I'm not sure how many of those have closed but probably about 2/3rds of them."

Fulcher says the SCAN program has reached about 156 communities within the province already, as they investigate calls related to drugs, gangs or prostitution.

Leading up to the luncheon, grade 7 and 8 students from a variety of schools took part in a safety expo in the SIAST Palliser gymnasium. A number of interactive displays were set up from a number of organizations to teach the students about safety.

"Injury prevent and telling students that they should be prepared for 72 hours in case of a disaster and the things that they need to do that." explained Outreach Coordinator with the Moose Jaw Red Cross Judi Robertson who was on hand for the expo. "And the third program that I'm highlighting is our RespectED or our bullying prevention program."

Moose Jaw Police, Fire & EMS, The John Howard Society and the Moose Jaw Transition House were all on hand for the presentations Tuesday.