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SVCPC BULLETINS: On this page
Crime Prevention Day 2010-AUG-22
Our volunteers at KDSCPO outreach office organized
"Crime Prevention Day"
We would like to thank the local businesses for their kind
donations for the event.
List of Sponsors (Alphabetical Order)
- Best Quality Sweets (7260 Main Street)
- Himalaya Restaurant (6587 Main Street)
- McDonalds (S.W Marine Drive)
- Original Tandoori Kitchen (7215 Main Street)
- Pricesmart Foods (2880 Bentall Street)
- Red Robins (1001 West Broadway)
- Walmart (3585 Grandview Hwy)
- White Spot (1126 S.E Marine Drive)
Aboriginal Cadet 003
Update from Maire
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Hello everyone! Recently, I went on a ride along with one of the Dog Squad members, esteemed Constable Sandra Glendinning. I was hesitant at first to meet her fellow canine sidekick, Hondo, fearing my arm would be torn off but Hondo is of the sweetest nature. Although these dogs are trained to literally mutilate human flesh, they are the most obedient dogs due to extreme consistent training and the direction of their owners. Sandra was very welcoming from the beginning of my first and only Dog Squad shift, and I greatly enjoyed those few hours getting to know her and Hondo.
The night began with a theft at a coffee shop in District 2, where the suspect stole bags of coffee then hid in the residential area behind the store. We circled the surrounding blocks several times, and as we did, Hondo became excited. Sandra told me though she wouldn't let him loose because if he did not sense the suspect, Hondo may go after anyone and at the scene there were several neighbours standing by. If it had been the wee hours of the morning, she would let him go since everyone would be sleeping and Hondo would catch the suspect more easily. After a few minutes, we spotted the suspect racing across a street, through the side of a house and enter the alley. Sandra turned so fast around the block into the alley to stop the suspect. An officer chasing on foot caught the suspect and had him in handcuffs fast. Sandra let Hondo out on his leash, and the dog went mad barking, hoping to make the first catch of the day.
The rest of the night was quiet so Sandra taught me about "tracking". Tracking is training a dog to track a suspect or even missing persons based on scent. Dogs follow a trail of scent with their noses close to the ground and pick up the scent of the path the suspect has taken. Human scent can linger in the air for an hour so if the dog gets on the scene quickly, they track faster and efficiently. I was instructed to run a course around a one block radius, scuffing my footsteps into boulevard grass, sidewalk, and front yards. While walking around the block, I wore a wear-and-tear dummy arm that the VPD dogs train with. I hid the arm at the end of the course amongst some bushes. Once Hondo discovered my improvised trail, he went wild. It was a challenge for Sandra and me just to keep up with Hondo as he was on the scent and was wild with excitement. And at the end of this successful track, a treat awaited this smart dog!
I owe many thanks to Sandra for having me ride along with her and Hondo. It was one of my favourite experiences this summer. I will be graduating from the program in a few weeks so I will have one last update in September. Stay tuned!
Aboriginal Cadet 002
Here is the second blog from Maire. Read all about it!
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Hello South Vancouver Community Policing Centre!
I have returned from the Pulling Together 2010 Journey, a 9-day canoeing excursion with 18 canoes and almost 300 participants. Every year since 2000, the Pulling Together Society organizes this trip so many different Aboriginal groups of youth, children, adults and elders come together to share culture and form relationships. The Board of Directors from Pulling Together did a heck of a job this year and not enough thank you's can be said to them.
The trip was an exceptional experience. For one, I had never been on a trip like this before. As part of my job with VPD, the other cadets and I joined the party of police officers and sergeants that made up the VPD canoe family. I had never paddled from the calmer shores of Port Moody and through some rough ocean waves of what is now known as the Salish Seas. It is a long awaited honour that the Aboriginal groups of the Lower Mainland have looked to forward when the Georgia Strait would be renamed. It was such an honour to paddle with a diverse group of people, who contribute their individual unique and spiritual cultures.
Aboriginal Cadet 001
(Maire - writer of this blog is second from the left)
Hello, my name is Maire, and I am a volunteer with the South Vancouver Community Policing Centre. This year, I was accepted by the Vancouver Police Department into the Aboriginal Cadet Program, which was set up in 2007 as a program for young Aboriginal adults to gain work experience and see firsthand how police constables operate in the field. This is my first actual insight into the world of policing in Vancouver, and the more I learn, the more prepared I will be when I apply to become a regular member. For several years now, I have been seriously considering policing as my career path.
VPD stresses huge importance and priority in building strong relationships with the many diverse communities around the city, including the Aboriginal communities. I am of half First Nations descent and have lived in Vancouver most of my life so I have adapted very well to the metro, fast-paced atmosphere. For other Aboriginal people living in the city, it is not so easy and many of them we see or rather hear of living and surviving in the Downtown Eastside. My short term goal is to graduate from the Aboriginal Cadet Program and my long term goal is to apply to be a regular member. By offering my services to VPD, I hope to give the Aboriginal peoples of the Lower Mainland hope. To this day, Aboriginal people are overrepresented as criminals, drug dealers and prostitutes. With this program and my future goals in mind, I am combating this stereotype and giving hope to the Aboriginal people who feel wronged by the legal system. With more Aboriginal officers hired in the law enforcement field, positive representation, trust and friendship are founded between police officers and members of the Aboriginal communities.
My experience so far can fill pages while the experiences of the police constables can fill books. I was lucky to be called for an interview for one of four positions in the cadet program. Out of approximately 20 applicants and a two month waiting period, I was hired. My work week consists of 4 days on, 4 days off and 10 hours each day. On two of the days, I work at the VPD Fleet Services under the Cambie Street bridge where I wash and clean out the patrol cars. The second set of days I am assigned to go on "ride alongs" with police constables in the four separate districts of Vancouver. I especially like the ride alongs because the police constables encourage my presence for each call. They have been the cherry on top because I have already seen more than I could have imagined. I get to witness many incidents, including domestic disputes, noise disturbance calls, and calls to victims who plan to attempt suicide. On my second patrol, the police constables I was with happened to conduct a drug seizure and I was actually allowed to count and weigh the drugs! I found this kind of surprising because I had never physically seen these drugs and here I was sorting them but it was cool nonetheless. While on patrol, I keep a notebook identical to the one I use for volunteering, and record what happens. My job is also very similar to volunteering: I watch and observe. I find the more calls we go to, the more I learn and from the nature of the scene, I become more de-sensitized. I am definitely enjoying my time with VPD this summer and will keep you updated!
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