On February 26, 2015, the School of Public Safety and the Toronto Chapter of ASIS International welcomed Detective Inspector Jim Smyth of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to the Den at Davis Campus for a Student Appreciation Night. Over 140 guests from government, industry, law enforcement and the Ontario colleges attended this evening reception and had the opportunity to hear Detective Inspector Smyth discuss his 25 years of experience as a police officer and his role as lead investigator in a number of major homicide cases, which included interrogating convicted murderers Russell Williams and Michael Rafferty. Students from the Investigation: Public & Private and Police Foundations programs represented the School of Public Safety, asking Detective Inspector Smyth about his work with the OPP, the role of interviewing skills in law enforcement and his observations on the art of interviewing suspects in complex investigations. During the reception part of the evening students from the Investigation program also presented their research into issues of organizational security and safety to the guests by displaying research posters exploring areas such as workplace violence, measures to reduce workplace bullying, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in law enforcement, cyber-security and business continuity planning.
The ASIS Student Appreciation Night was organized by the Student Ambassadors Initiative: a Co-Curricular Record (CCR) project where students from the Investigation program liaise with faculty and industry partners to develop special events that help students to network with employers and working professionals. This event would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the Student Ambassadors (Brittany Drew, Jason Copperthwaite, Natalie Hansen, Michael Near, and Obiageli Okechuku). The organizers would also to thank the student poster presenters (Peter Broz, Brittany Drew, Natalie Hansen, Faith Iacobucci, Jane Miroshnykova, Laura Scott and Julie Sforza) along with the students from the Police Foundations and Investigation programs who attended the event. The School of Public Safety is grateful to the education committee of the Toronto Chapter of ASIS for their work in bringing this event to Sheridan including Shannon Toomey, Jason Ball, Brine Hamilton, and Benjamin Tabesh, along with Dan Casey and his staff at the Den who did an outstanding job providing catering and logistics for the event.
ASIS International is the largest professional organization for the security and investigations industry, with more than 36,000 members worldwide. Every year, ASIS’s Toronto chapter supports students in Police Foundations and Law & Security Programs through a range of bursaries and scholarships, along with offering a discounted membership of $25 per year to students so they can access networking and professional development opportunities. For more details see http://www.asistoronto.org/student-membership.php
For information about the Investigation: Public & Private and Police Foundations programs, along with the other programs in the School of Public Safety, please access https://www.sheridancollege.ca/academics/faculties/applied-health-and-community-studies/public-safety.aspx
