The Victoria Police Department is taking new steps to connect with marginalized communities.
The Before the Badge program was unveiled April 23. It's a new training initiative designed to put recruits in the shoes of marginalized communities before they even set foot in the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC).
“It’s a new program that is going to help build trust, effective communication and respect between our police officers and the people from all of the diverse communities and cultures that we serve within the City of Victoria,” said Victoria Police Department Chief Del Manak.
The program specifically targets religious, cultural and special interest groups in Victoria and Esquimalt. These groups were identified and approached to create presentations and experiences to help pre-recruits understand their culture, history with policing, and how to avoid doing harm when interacting with members of their communities. Pre-recruits will attend the sessions over five days before being sworn in as officers and beginning formal training at the JIBC.
“Make no mistake, it is a little bit more than just training," said Manak. "There is the relationship piece – that is the key – which is going to pay dividends. We think it’s going to set the foundation for our officers to have successful careers. It is about building community trust and making sure our communities have confidence in the Victoria Police Department.”
The program was inspired by a similar initiative of the same name launched by the Seattle Police Department. Victoria began its rollout with a pilot in January.
“What we’ve done is made it fit our community and the Victoria Police Department. What we saw in the Seattle program was the experiential learning component. This is not online training or someone giving a presentation – this is our officers going out into the community.”
So far, several groups have partnered with VicPD, including the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness, the B.C. Muslim Association, Victoria Native Friendship Centre, Sikh community, Mental Health Awareness, the African Art and Cultural Centre, and others. Manak said the program has already received strong support from both recruits and community partners.
“They’re going to be learning the history of antisemitism and Holocaust education,” said Sharon Kobrinsky, president of the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island, explaining that the program is a welcome extension of the federation’s ongoing relationship with VicPD.
“The Jewish community has been very supported by VicPD and by Saanich PD. There isn’t an event we have that they’re not on site.”
Meanwhile, Meyen Quigley, a volunteer and former board member of the Victoria Filipino-Canadian Association, said she hopes the program helps undo stereotypes about Filipino people – and police themselves.
“Police officers sometimes sit together and share war stories, and our fear is that all the minority populations get lumped together. Encounters with one Asian person become generalized to be reflective of all Asians – that’s what we’d like to undo,” Quigley said.
“There have been very difficult encounters between police and Filipinos where, I think, if the officers had some training in the values, attitudes and ways Filipinos relate to each other and the police, that would have been useful and could have helped avoid those incidents.”
To balance their work with a wide range of community partners, Manak said the department will “have to be nimble.”
“The goal is the same – learning about each one of our diverse communities, allowing them to interact with officers and really share how police are perceived and how police can improve their interactions.”
In addition to community-based training, recruits will also attend sessions focused on mental health, wellness and physical literacy to prepare them for success at the JIBC.
