BY LAUREL MYERS
[email protected]
The Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) has been recognized as a world leader in the policing industry, selected as a Top 10 finalist for the 15th annual Webber Seavey Award for Quality in Law Enforcement.
The award is sponsored, in part, by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. It is presented annually to agencies and departments worldwide in recognition of promoting a standard of excellence that exemplifies law enforcement’s contribution and dedication to the quality of life in local communities, the IACP website states.
“This award is like the Stanley Cup of policing,” said GSPS Chief Ian Davidson. “It shows our service is not only a leader in Ontario, but a leader around the world. It is a validation that we are doing the right things and setting a new standard.”
The group garnering the accolades was Where Two Roads Meet – the Police Mkwa Opportunity Education Circle. The group was established to enhance Aboriginal-police relations and to create learning opportunities for Aboriginal students who wish to pursue career opportunities in the justice system.
“We think it is very innovative and we’ve had a remarkable level of success with it,” Davidson said.
To date, 75 Aboriginal students have participated in the program, stronger Aboriginal-police relationships have been built in the community and the service has been able to successfully attract Aboriginal applicants in both sworn and civilian positions.
“Many countries have a sad history with indigenous people and Canada is one of them,” Davidson said. “The program we have collectively developed, and are still working on, speaks to those issues (race, bias and hate) in a very significant way.
“If you look at what we’ve done in terms of mentoring and bringing young aboriginal people into the police service, changing their perceptions of police officers (and vice versa), we think it’s more than worthy of this award.”
The GSPS came out among the Top 10 of over 200 applicants worldwide. They were shortlisted with police agencies in New York, Los Angeles and Miami in the United States; Jaipur and Sri Ganganagar in India; and Montreal, Ottawa, Richmond and York in Canada.
“The Greater Sudbury Police Service is becoming a recognized leader in many areas and winning an international award is certainly gratifying,” said GSPS Board Chair Dave Petryna in a press release. “It also signals that our police service is in tune with community needs – you can’t innovate without a supportive community. All of Sudbury should be proud of this achievement.”
