Police in Kimmirut, Nunavut, applauded a court judge's order to have a probation officer sent to the community on a monthly basis.

Nunavut court Justice judge Robert Kilpatrick ordered the territorial government to ensure a probation officer visits Kimmirut once a month, after he sentenced a 13-year-old boy on Friday to 20 months probation for shooting a rifle at the local RCMP residence in June.

In sentencing the boy, Kilpatrick said a lack of social and correctional services contributes to crime in the hamlet of 400.

Kimmirut has no social worker, probation officer or mental health worker, which the judge said is unacceptable.

'Falls through the cracks'

"I've been here since May of 2008 and we haven't had a probation officer ever come in here," Cpl. Larry Sharbell of the Kimmirut RCMP detachment told CBC News on Friday.

Sharbell estimated there are about 30 residents who are on probation.

Local RCMP officers supervise community service orders and arrange calls to probation officers. But without a probation officer around, many orders are not followed, he said.

"Unfortunately, a lot of it falls through the cracks," Sharbell said, adding that enforcing probation orders takes a back seat to normal police duties.

"There's not enough hours in the day to allow us to follow up on probation orders."

Nunavut government officials say they will make every effort to comply with the court's order.

Resources stretched thin

Kilpatrick's ruling has highlighted the lack of offender services in Nunavut's 25 communities, which are served by a total 15 probation officers.

Corrections director Doug Strader said 14 of the territory's 15 probation officer positions are filled, but added that resources are stretched thin. Probation officers in Iqaluit handle more than 100 cases each, he said.

The territorial government will meet early next month "to come up with some type of plan to provide supervision in communities that currently have no services," Strader said.

In Kimmirut, Sharbell said he hopes all of Nunavut's communities will have all the services offenders need.

In the meantime, Sharbell said the local RCMP detachment has a good relationship with people in Kimmirut, despite the latest incident and the 2007 shooting death of Const. Douglas Scott in the community.

"It's a better place now to work than it was back a while ago, and that's due entirely to the members of the community," Sharbell said.

"This incident with this young offender, it was an isolated incident. It's been dealt with, and now the goal is to re-integrate this young man back into the community."

Sharbell said residents no longer harbour a confrontational mentality against police, as both police and the public want a safe and healthy community.