Historic Trinidad and Tobago

Once again IAWP makes history.  Our meeting in T&T represents the first time the board has travelled to Region 17 as a group. 

No one is more happy to see IAWP here than Patsy Joseph (photo below).  Patsy has been instrumental in arranging the conference, Monday and Tuesday, and showing off her beautiful country.  Here Patsy gets us all ready for our tour to Pitch Lake.

One of the two tour guides at Pitch Lake, Cyril, shows off the various stages of "pitch" to IAWP board members and conference delegates.  It was a hot and interesting tour.

Later in the day, post tour of Pitch Lake, we were provided with lunch at one of the many T&T police buildings.  Many thanks to the T&T police for hosting our meetings, providing the support to our Region 17 members and to hosting the conference.  Look for further updates on the support from IAWP President Jane Townsley via her Twitter account.

Last night, actually day 2 in Trinidad for many BOD and conference delegates, the T&T Police hosted a Welcome Reception.  Acting Police Commissioner (photo below) Mervyn Richardson addressed the audience and welcomed us to the country.  In his words "the story of one police officer is the story of all police officers" and he is committed to the stories of the women police in T&T.

And of course the work of the BOD is important and the reason we are here.  Our meetings began yesterday at the T&T Police Training Academy.  This is one of the oldest and most historic buildings in the city.  It is wonderful venue for our work.

In between the formal work items, BOD members take time to discuss ongoing issues and catch up on IAWP work around the world.

Unfortunately I did not know Anne Duncan personally.  But I do know that it was her dream that IAWP visit here one day.  IAWP Region 17 Coordinator, Anne Marie, and many others (Patsy and Odette!) have worked very hard to make Anne's dream a reality.  And for that...I am once again proud to be part of that dream, the history and IAWP!

Be sure to check back for more updates

Honouring Heroes

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Joy Smith Foundation Gala in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  You may recall Joy Smith from the 50th Annual IAWP Conference in St. John's, Newfoundland where she presented on the topic of Human Trafficking.  She is a fierce advocate for victims and her foundation was established to aid in training for law enforcement, advocacy for victims, and awareness of the crimes associated to Human Trafficking.

During the gala event, Joy Smith honoured several heroes who have worked to combat this issue.  Among the Heroes was Inspector Gerry Kerr of the RCMP (Nunavut) who worked on a video depicting the impact of this crime on the victims.  Also honoured were Inspector Gord Perrier and Detective Sergeant Shawna Neufeld of the Winnipeg Police Service for their work to return two children who had been abducted and taken to Mexico.

Please see more on Joy Smith and her foundation in the article below.
http://www.joysmithfoundation.com/notices_detail.asp?notice_ID=223

Bullying

Yesterday, April 10th, I had the good fortune to be invited to attend a morning work shop on bullying in the workplace.  Here in Manitoba there have been recent changes to our Workplace Health and Safety Legislation to expand the definitions of prohibited workplace behaviours that could be considered harassment.  The second aspect of the presentation focused on work place bullying and the effects on employees and the employer (wide implications for the business or organization). 

One of the most telling bits of information that I took away from the presentation is that research indicates that at one point in time we have all most likely been bully or have been the target of the bully.    The thought that I have likely at one point been a bully jarred me.  But it gave me pause to reflect (which was the point of the workshop!) and agree that "yes" I have at time displayed behaviours which are not reflective of who I want to be as a police officer, a supervisor, or most importantly as a person. 

It takes dedicated and conscious effort to be on our best behaviour at all times.  The workshop yesterday reminded me of this.  I began my post workshop commitment to strive toward being a person who stands up against bullying by doing some online reading.  I hope you have time to read a few of the links I have provided here and make the commitment as well.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Bullying_Day

http://www.dayofpink.org/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ns-cabinet-and-public-concern-drive-call-to-reopen-case-of-bullied-teen/article11033039/

www.workplacebullying.org

www.mobbing.ca

www.pipsc.ca