Tag Archives: policing

Bachelor of Law Enforcement Studies Justice & Public Safety Division Justice Institute of British Columbia School of Criminal Justice & Security

Be the one keeping communities safe

October 13, 2017 – 11:41 am
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Sebastien Therrien’s pursuit of a career in policing led him to JIBC. Thanks to his JIBC degree, he’s now enrolled in graduate studies to further his education. (Story by Wanda Chow / Photo by Jimmy Jeong)

 

Sebastien Therrien’s pursuit of a career in policing led him to the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) and now his JIBC degree is helping him expand his career opportunities as he pursues a graduate degree.

Growing up in Quebec, Sebastien, now 27, always wanted to be a police officer, a career where he could make a difference while working directly with the public.

That determination was strengthened after he graduated high school and joined the Canadian Forces Army Reserves, while completing a diploma in Police Foundations at La Cité Collégiale in Ottawa. It was at La Cité where he learned of a new agreement between that school and JIBC, where he could apply his education towards completion of JIBC’s Bachelor of Law Enforcement Studies (BLES) degree.

Sebastien says his JIBC education helped open his mind on many subjects, particularly the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada, how they were treated and how that continues to impact that community today.

“In high school I cannot remember learning about that and it’s so important to learn about it. That’s what struck me, like wow, I’m 25, 26 years old and I’m just learning about this?”

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Law Enforcement Studies Diploma Police Academy

Officer aims to draw on own experience to be role model and help others

July 10, 2017 – 3:45 pm
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Just as she was once made to feel safe by police officers in her time of need, Const. Shauntelle Nichols wants to help others the same way. A graduate of JIBC’s Law Enforcement Studies Diploma program she is now an officer with the Saanich Police Department. (Story and photo by Wanda Chow)

 

When Shauntelle Nichols needed help, the police were there for her. Today she’s a police officer herself, ready to be there for others in need.

For the last several years, Shauntelle has drawn on her experience of officers helping make her feel safe to motivate and inspire her in her studies and efforts to be hired by a local police department.

“Because really, that’s what policing is. You’re at your worst day, somebody’s coming to help you. That’s what’s inspiring to me. I want to be that person [to make others feel safe]. And I see a lot of women, Aboriginal women, Aboriginal youth, in stressful and horrible relationships. They don’t know how to get out and sometimes all it takes is somebody listening, being supportive and being strong for you and guiding you in the right direction.”

It wasn’t long before her personal experience pointed her in the direction of the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) where she applied to the Law Enforcement Studies Diploma (LESD) program.

“I remember the day I got my acceptance letter I cried my eyes out because I was so happy to be going to this program. It’s the top public safety institution in BC. It’s well known and I knew that if I got in here and I worked as hard as I could it would give me a strong, strong reference to apply to police departments.”

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Justice Institute of British Columbia Law Enforcement Studies Diploma

LESD grad aims to draw on refugee experience

February 9, 2017 – 3:36 pm
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Mansoor Sahak becomes a police officer to give back to Canada for taking in his family as refugees. (Story by Wanda Chow / Photo by Richard Chu)

 

Mansoor Sahak knew he wanted to be a police officer ever since volunteering at a community policing station and attending the New Westminster Police Department’s Student Police Academy.

He always figured it was because policing is exciting and different from most careers. But eventually, he uncovered a deeper reason. It’s because he feels privileged to live in Canada.

He was too young to remember much of it, but his parents have told him stories. Of how his family fled Afghanistan when the Taliban took power and the war started. How they left almost everything behind. How they escaped to Pakistan where his family of seven shared a home with three other families, all relatives.

“My parents always talk about it. They always wanted to go back to Afghanistan, to go back home. It was the home we grew up in but it was destroyed, there was nothing left of it.”

Mansoor, 22, does remember how, at age nine, he and his family came to Canada as refugees, knowing no English, having to rebuild their lives again. But always his parents would talk about the destruction taking place in their native country, and what continues to be lost.

“You realize that was you at one point, that could have been you,” he said. “But you made it, it’s literally a lottery ticket for my family to come out here.”

He hopes one day to become a police officer to give back to the country that took in his family. To help him to that end, he completed a Law Enforcement Studies Diploma at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC).  read more »

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Bachelor of Law Enforcement Studies Justice & Public Safety Division Justice Institute of British Columbia Law Enforcement Studies Diploma

JIBC experience life-changing for law enforcement degree grad

February 2, 2017 – 10:09 am
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Ramandeep Randhawa says his JIBC Law Enforcement Studies instructors went “above and beyond” in helping him achieve his career goals. (Story and photo by Wanda Chow)

 

Like many kids, Ramandeep Randhawa grew up wanting to be a police officer.

For much of his life, though, he was also overweight.

That has changed for the better, he says, with much thanks to his instructors at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC).

As a teenager, Ramandeep attended a youth cadet program and the New Westminster Police Department Student Police Academy which helped him confirm he wanted to work in law enforcement. He set about working towards his goal by spending two years studying criminology at a local university.

Then he learned about JIBC’s Law Enforcement Studies Diploma (LESD) program, and how it is specifically geared towards those interested in policing and other law enforcement careers.

When he started the LESD program over four years ago, he weighed 325 pounds. By the time he graduated with a Bachelor of Law Enforcement Studies (BLES) four years later, he had lost 125 pounds.

His instructors put him on a simple diet plan and workout routine and kept him accountable.

“They went above and beyond,” Ramandeep said. “They actually care and want to see you be successful.”

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Justice & Public Safety Division Justice Institute of British Columbia Law Enforcement Studies Diploma

Robbery set LESD grad on path to policing

September 16, 2016 – 9:11 am
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2016_09sept6_mateen_rc-1-650x300Being a victim of crime helped by police inspired Mateen Aminie to go into policing himself. He credits JIBC’s Law Enforcement Studies Diploma program for helping him get hired recently by a local police department. (Story by Wanda Chow / Photo by Richard Chu)

 

Const. Mateen Aminie was just 14 when an act of violence set him on a career path to help others.

By then, the teen had already had more upheaval in his life than many encounter in a lifetime. His family had fled their native Afghanistan when he was a baby, relocating to Pakistan before eventually emigrating to Canada years later when he was 13.

It was good timing for him, he said, since by that age, he was firmly ensconced in his native culture, able to speak fluent Farsi and Dari, and could adapt to a new language and culture in his new life in Canada.

Things were going well in his first year in Canada until he was attacked while heading home from a job at a fast-food outlet in Surrey. A group of thugs knocked him unconscious, hitting him in the head with a bat and kicking him in the face, before robbing him. A passing cab driver witnessed the incident and called Surrey RCMP.

When police arrived, they offered him the help of victim services, and generally they showed they cared. This was very different from his experience in Pakistan where most people don’t like or trust police.

“Before I came to Canada I knew police were different here, but I didn’t know how different,” said Mateen, now 20. “They caught the guys who did it within an hour. That was really cool. That kind of thing doesn’t happen over there in Pakistan.”

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