BY KEITH LACEY
Next weekend the city will be crawling with cops.
Sudbury Rainbow Crime Stoppers is hosting representatives from 39 Crime Stoppers organizations at its annual Ontario Crime Stoppers convention, which kicks off with pre-registration Friday and continues until next Tuesday.
It?s taken months of planning to produce an intinerary that reflects the theme of A Rock Solid Experience, and highlights the best in Northern Ontario hospitality, said event media co-ordinator Susanne Allin, a member of Sudbury Rainbow Crime Stoppers board of directors for two years.
The Holiday Inn on Regent Street is the host hotel.
?We?ll have more than 200 Crime Stoppers directors, police officers and representatives from all three levels of government,? said Allin.
For the first time in history, the international president, Canadian president and Ontario president will attend the annual convention to deliver keynote speeches and attend the various workshops and seminars, said Allin.
International president Steve Walrath, Canadian president Ralph Page and Ontario president Fred Hicks will all share their vision of the future of the organization.
Locally, Sudbury Rainbow Crime Stoppers has recovered more than $36 million in stolen property and drugs since its inception in 1987 and handed out more than $1 million in cash to people who provide anonymous tips to police, said Allin.
The success of Crime Stoppers has always been in raising funds to allow police to reward people to come forward with information that assists
police in making arrests and that?s not likely to change any time soon, said Allin.
Several important seminars and workshops have been scheduled, including one on child Internet pornography, another on forensics, another on youth justice and one on native restorative justice.
A special four-day workshop for law enforcement officers called Scientic Content Analysis (SCAN) will bring in officers from all across Ontario, said Allin.
?This new proven scientific method trains officers to ask specific questions...and learn to read between the lines when they are questioning suspects,? said Allin. ?It?s been proven a great method to allow officers to read between the lines and determine whether or not someone is telling the truth.?
The forensics seminar will be lead by Laurentian University professor Dr. Scott Fairgrieve, one of the leading criminal forensic specialists in the country.
The youth justice seminar will be lead by Sgt. Rob Thirkill of the Greater Sudbury Police. He has organized numerous youth justice programs in this community over the past several years.
Another highlight will be a seminar presented by Brian Morrison, an Ministry of Natural Resources employee who has gained national attention for his ability to train police dogs.
All those in attendance will be treated to some special Northern Ontario hospitality Saturday night during a pit party at the Inco Ltd. slag heap.
All participants will then be treated to a tour of Science North Sunday, including a meal, Imax Theatre presentation, a visit to the 3-D Bush Plane adventure and tour of the Butterfly Solarium.
There will be a gala ball on Monday evening, before closing ceremonies Tuesday morning, where Gerry Lougheed Jr. will officially close the event with a speech.
The public is invited to come out Sunday at 5:30 pm to watch a grand motorcade of Crime Stoppers vehicles. The parade route will begin at the Holiday Inn and proceed down Regent Street, along Lorne Street, onto Elm Street and will end at Science North on Paris Street.
