Awards and Kudos

Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee year is now over but her Diamond Jubilee Awards have lived on into 2013.  Several members from the Winnipeg Police Service received a Diamond Jubilee Medal at a ceremony in February.

Congratulations to Senior Police Communications Operator Penny Kennedy, Patrol Sergeant Kathy Antymis, Constable Helen Peters and Patrol Sergeant Edith Turner for receiving this prestigious award.  These are truly outstanding women in law enforcement!

Speaking of Edith....

Congratulations to Edith Turner who has also been nominated for a 2013 YWCA Women of Distinction Award here in Winnipeg.  I will be at the May 1 Gala to cheer loud and proud when her name is called!

I also want to offer huge KUDOS to members of the IAWP 2014 Conference Committee, Lana Bouroughs and Michelle Roch, who have recently been promoted to the rank of Patrol Sergeant.  The promotions take place April 21, 2013.  Best wishes in your new roles. 

When will I be a veteran?

IAWP First Vice President Margaret Shorter posed for one last "official" photo wearing her red serge last March in Dhaka.  She is now retired from the RCMP and has embarked on the next chapter of her life by returning to university.  Below is a excerpt from a recent project.  

I had decided that June 21, 2012, would be the day I formally retired from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It was then that I began to think about being “a veteran”. I had already grappled with the association of aging with the word ‘retirement’ and I was pretty sure that veterans were even older than that. Other than my retired RCMP father, veterans had survived world wars. I could see them in my mind’s eye standing, or sitting in wheelchairs, at cenotaphs on November 11th each year on Remembrance Day —and there had never been any women in those images!


One of the earliest strategies I implemented to help me adjust to my anticipated life as an ex-member of the RCMP was to enroll in a Master’s Degree Program at Royal Roads University. I did this one year prior to my retirement date knowing that, once retired, I would be free to devote my full time to my studies in the second and final year of the Program. One of the things I enjoyed about going back to school as an adult was that it gave me complete control over what I chose to study. Moreover, at the post-graduate level, the focus is on research and one can study whatever one is interested in, curious about, or compelled to investigate. I concentrated on packing and planning the requisite “retirement party”.

As I worked my way through the paperwork toward official retirement, I began to experience some trepidation about life without my RCMP family and what it would mean to be a veteran police officer. Where were the female Mounties who had retired before me? I had nobody to ask but I did remember that one of them had written a book titled The Red Wall: A Woman in the RCMP. Its author, Jane Hall, was not only a veteran of the Force she was a member of the Vancouver Chapter of the RCMP Veterans’ Association and a member of its Board of Directors.

Jane and I met in January this year at a special veterans’ tour of the new ‘E’ Division RCMP Headquarters in Surrey, B.C. As I had learned from her book, Jane is a fundamentally positive person, fair, encouraging, and full of ideas. From the moment we connected, Jane was open to my research question on becoming a female police veteran. Our collaboration has resulted in a profile interview to be published in the Spring 2013 edition of WomenPolice magazine, the official publication of the International Association of Women Police (IAWP). An audio version of the interview can be heard on Jane’s new website, www.redwalljanehall.com. It can also be accessed from the IAWP website, www.iawp.org , and from the website of the Vancouver Chapter of the RCMP Veterans’ Association at www.rcmpveteransvancouver.com .

One of the things I have learned in life is that knowledge has more power when it is shared. Jane and I hope you enjoy our interview conversation. Going back to Depot; through the early days of women in operational policing and the changes in Canadian society; to the challenges of today’s leadership, it reflects our experiences as women in the RCMP—both as serving officers and as veterans. Please connect with others and share your thoughts.

How the times are changing



The original concept behind hosting "Forces of Fashion" on International Women's Day 2013 was that our progression as women in law enforcement can be visually illustrated by the changes in our uniforms.  You be the judge!

 

 

 

When women were originally hired into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, it was not permitted for a woman to wear the iconic Stetson Hat.  She was issued a fur hat (held by officer on far right) or the pill box style hat featured second from the right.  Officers now (center and to the left) proudly wear the same uniforms as male officers, including the beautiful Red Serge and Stetson.

 

 

 

The Winnipeg Police Service did issue uniforms to women before some of the other police agencies in Canada.  However, working in skirt and low pump was not very practical for front line work.  It was not until 1974 that women in the WPS were given pants and the same uniforms as males.  Now we enjoy proper fitting tactical vest and street uniforms (officer on right) as male officers. 

Proud officers of the Dakota Ojiway Police Service in Manitoba are provided with uniforms for daily work (right) and for ceremonial occasions (left).  These women travelled over two hours, along with the Chief of the DOPS, Chief Paulson, to take part in the display of uniforms. 

One of my favorite and most proud IAWP moments is the Annual Parade of Nations because of the many uniforms on display.  Watching all of the law enforcement officers, federal corrections, provincial corrections, Brandon Police Service, and all the agencies named above, was a true IAWP Proud moment for me!

Please see your next copy of Women Police for further pictures of the Brandon Police Service and more about this event.

International Women's Day 2013

 

 

 

Genie Valdez, RCMP D Division and Project Manager for IAWP 2014 tweets are Forces of Fashion rehearsal takes place.  Our conference committee is fully informed on all issues thanks to Genie's diligent work at coordinating meetings and overseeing time lines.

 

The full display of uniforms from the Winnipeg Police, Brandon Police, RCMP, Federal Corrections,  and Dakota Ojibwa Police will be a site to see!  I can't give away too much just yet ... these are just some "previews" form the dress rehearsal last night.

 

Police and civilian members from all the IAWP 2014 host agencies came together as models to make this event happen.  Here, the group waits to filter out into the main area of the atrium at the University of Winnipeg Richardson Complex for Sciences.

 

 

Thank you to all our sponsors for this event:

 

The Hudson's Bay Company (Downtown)

Salon 111 (formerly Sets on Fort)

Northwest Law Enforcement Academy

Legacy Bowes Group (IAWP 2014 sponsor and advisor)

Winnipeg Police Museum

University of Winnipeg Diversity Services

Avenue 4 (Print and Marketing Sponsor IAWP 2014)

 

 

I would also like to thank many senior officers who purchased tickets for "future women in law enforcement".

 

Be sure to check back tomorrow for highlights and see your next issue of Women Police.