Police unveil aboriginal recruitment video

BY KEITH LACEY

An initiative to attract more aboriginal youth into the policing profession has taken a giant step forward as a new recruitment video has been completed and will be distributed to high school students across Northern Ontario and Canada.

Greater Sudbury Police Chief Ian Davidson was beaming after the 12-minute recruitment video was shown to members of the Greater Sudbury Police Services Board Monday evening.

The video focuses on six aboriginal officers who are enjoying successful careers with different police services across northeastern Ontario as well as a communications specialist who works as dispatcher for the Greater Sudbury service.

All of those interviewed detail how much they love their jobs, how rewarding they find their careers and each encourage other native youth to consider a career in the policing profession.

"We had to take steps to help First Nations people consider policing as a viable option," said Davidson.

Last year, Davidson said he personally approached Louise Paquette, a top official with FedNor, and informed her about the possibility of putting together a recruitment video.

Paquette, who was at the board meeting Monday, detailed criteria to obtain funding, a proposal was put together that included involving numerous police services across the north, and eventually $38,000 in funding was secured to produce the video, said Davidson.

Const. Grant Dokis, the native liaison officer for the Greater Sudbury Police Service, acts as narrator during the video.

Dokis hired Tracey Nanibush to help him produce the video, which took several months to put together.

Davidson said Dokis and Nanibush did a terrific job.

"We think the end result is very effective," he said. "The original feedback has been very good."

Davidson said the video will be copied and forwarded to all participating police services in northeastern Ontario and will end up being shown to tens of thousands of high school students.

Police services for southern Ontario have made inquiries and the Ontario Association of Police Chiefs and Canadian Associations of Police Chiefs also want copies, he said.

Another inquiry has also been made from an Australian National Police, said Davidson, noting Australia also has a large aboriginal community and many police services are actively recruiting aboriginal officers.

Dokis said working on the video was a pleasure.

"We'd like our police service to be a leader not only provincially, but nationally," he said.

Dokis said he could "count on one hand" the number of aboriginal officers who have applied to become police officers locally in the past couple of years.

He has no doubt this video will allow aboriginal youth to see the rewards of a  policing career and encourage many to apply to various police services across the north.

"We want aboriginal youth to realize policing is a rewarding career and becoming a police officer is achievable," he said.

Davidson said he plans on inviting hundreds of high school students and many dignitaries to officially launch the video at Science North's CVRD-Inco Cavern within the next few weeks.