PNG / Vancouver police Const. Richard Wong watches six-year-old police dog Knight clear a hurdle on the new VPD Dog Squad training course in Strathcona Park. Photograph by: Bill Keay, Vancouver Sun

Jumping through windows and leaping over fences are all in a day’s work for this member of the Vancouver police department.

However, he might bark or growl in the process.

Jet, an 85-pound German shepherd police dog, tracks the scent of criminals on the run.

“When he’s not working, he’s a pushover,” said Jet’s handler, Const. Rich Horner.

Jet was on hand to demonstrate the VPD Dog Squad’s new obstacle course on Monday. The course will be used to train three new pups joining the force this fall, said Sgt. Scott Hogg at a press conference at Strathcona Park.

Built by a team of BCIT construction students, the course includes elements a dog might face in the line of duty, Sgt. Hogg said.

With the pending retirement of three members from the 18-dog squad, the course has arrived just in time to help train their replacements during a three-month program, he added.

The course, which is an “integral” part of training, will be moved to the new VPD facilities on Graveley Street, Sgt. Hogg said. To complete the course, the dogs jumped up onto four-foot-high blocks, ran up and down steep planks and leaped through holes in wooden boards.

“Jumping a hurdle is like simulating going over a fence,” said Sgt. Hogg. “Previously, we had to go outside to different areas in different municipalities to get this done.”

The Vancouver Police Foundation donated $100,000 to the BCIT Centre for Rehabilitation Engineering and Technology, which designed and built the course. It was specially engineered to help police dogs train safely, said Dr. Silvia Raschke, head of the research team.

Her research tracks the dogs’ movements to find ways to minimize injuries. “It’s sports medicine for dogs,” she said. Her next project will study the effects of bulletproof vests on police dogs’ movements.

Jet’s handler, Const. Horner, said the course helps build up a dog’s confidence. However, at seven-years-old, Jet doesn’t jump over obstacles as easily as he used to, he added. Sore backs and hips can plague older canines on the force, he said. “This is great for a puppy, but not as good for older dogs,” Const. Horner said.

Read the Vancouver Sun article

The obstacle course was donated by BCIT, a leader in developing initiatives that promote the long-term health and safety of police dogs.

“With this generous donation from BCIT and the continued support of the Vancouver Police Foundation, we know our police service dogs will be trained to the highest calibre, using the best possible equipment available”, says Sergeant Scott Hogg of the VPD Dog Squad.

Rod Goy
Acting Dean School of Construction and the Environment
Statement

The BCIT School of Construction and the Environment provides knowledge and skills to our students in a wide range of options from building trades to environmental technologies and more.

We are guided by a sustainability framework with six guiding principles. Two of these principles complement the work done by the men and women who serve with the Vancouver Police Department:

• protecting the assets in our built environment and
• ensuring safety and access to services

This obstacle course is an example of how our Carpentry graduates have learned, not only how to build the homes we all live in, but also how to build things that contribute to safe communities - in this case a heavy duty obstacle course that helps keep police dogs fit and ready for their jobs.

We hope that these obstacles will help the VPD police dog squad keep Vancouver and its citizens safe.

Silvia Raschke, PhD
Project Leader BCIT Technology Centre
Principle Investigator, Centre for Rehabilitation Engineering and Technology that Enables (CREATE)
Statement

In 2007, a Police Canine Performance and Health Initiative was proposed at BCIT to carry out practical, applied research projects to advance practices in police dog health and safety in support of creating healthy, safe communities. The first donation toward this initiative was a generous $100,000 from the Vancouver Police Foundation, and it allowed BCIT to do groundbreaking work in the area of police dog movement.

A next step in supporting initiatives to improve the ways we protect and take care of these very important four-legged members of the police service, was to build an operational obstacle course for use in researching dog movement, as well as for regular police dog training.

In 2008, I approached BCIT’s John English to help secure funding for the building of the obstacle course. John and the School of Construction and the Environment became the sponsor as part of the School’s commitment to supporting safe and sustainable communities.

The course was successfully built and we are now pleased to hand it over to the Vancouver Police Department for their Dog Squad to use in training and in future collaborative research projects. This is a small way we at BCIT can give back to the VPD and the VPD Foundation in thanks for their support of our research with that first grant.

July 9th - The 21st Annual VPD Free Youth Soccer Camp was put on this year by the Vancouver Police Soccer and Service Club with the generous support of the Vancouver Police Foundation. Foundation Executive Director Valerie MacLean remarked that “the funding provided by the Vancouver Police Foundation is made possible by the unprecedented and groundbreaking success the Foundation has had with its new membership initiative this year, showing the overwhelming support of the generous individuals who are so proud of and so committed to the Vancouver Police Department.”

Nearly 140 kids, aged 6 to 10, participated in the camp, along with another 30 kids, aged 11 to 17, attending as assistant coaches as part of the youth mentoring related to the camp. Many of these assistant coaches took part in the camp when they were younger.

This year the Vancouver Whitecaps once again provided a head coach to oversee the 25-30 police coaches each day at the camp. They also had team members attend the camp to provide a demonstration for the children and an opportunity to receive autographs. Vancouver Whitecaps Captain Martin Nash along with Men`s and Women`s Whitecaps team Keepers Jay Nolly and Siobhan Chamberlain and Defender Emily Zurrer joined the kids to share their soccer tips.

During the four-day camp, the children were treated to appearances by the VPD Motorcycle Drill Team, the Mounted Squad and the Dog Squad. The children also received a personal safety presentation from a member of School Liaison during the camp, Cst Paul Taylor.

Today on the final day of the camp, there will be a World Cup-type mini-competition with the campers that will wind up with certificate presentations to the 10 year old graduates, as well as to the assistant coaches. The children will enjoy refreshments, muffins and fresh fruit to end the camp.

This year the VPD camp is supported by the Whitecaps Foundation and Canadian Tire Jumpstart®, who have partnered to provide a professional coach to oversee the 25-30 police coaches each day at the camp. In addition, every child who attends the camp will receive a ticket to a Vancouver Whitecaps FC match.Whitecaps team members will provide a demonstration for the children and an opportunity to receive autographs. The Whitecaps Foundation is a federally registered charity that is working to help create the fittest generation of BC youth by 2020. Through fundraising, community alliances and strategic partnerships, the Whitecaps Foundation is supporting the development of active lifestyles, healthy eating and teamwork in young people throughout the province. CanadianTire Jumpstart® is a community-based charitable program that helps financially disadvantaged kids aged 4 to 18 participate in organized sports and recreation. National in scope but local in focus, Canadian Tire Jumpstart is delivered through a Canadian-wide network of local chapters, made up of a variety of community leaders committed to helping kids get active.

Cops on all-terrain vehicles will again be a regular sight on the beaches this summer.

After a one-year absence because of funding, the Vancouver Police Department received $34,687 from the Vancouver Police Foundation to acquire three vehicles, commonly known as ATVs.

Const. Jana McGuinness, a VPD media relations officer, said in an email message the funding “allows us to acquire some ATVs that we are going to test this summer to make sure they are the best choice we can make for public safety and the environment.”

Read the complete Vancouver Courier article

Thanks to a grant provided by the Vancouver Police Foundation, Vancouver Police will be patrolling the beaches on ATVs again this summer. VPD Acting Inpsector Barry Kross recognized Executive Director Valerie MacLean and Trustees Murray Atherton and Susan Evans for the generous grant of $34,687.20 toward the lease of three ATVs to be used throughout the summer.

“Beach Patrol has proven in the past to be an effective policing model, assisting our officers in dealing with any crime or disorder on and around the beaches and adjacent parks during peak summer times,” says Kross.

In addition to the ATVs, officers will also patrol on foot, on bicycles and on horseback. Increased patrols will span from Spanish Banks to Kitsilano Beach on the south side of English Bay, including the seawall along False Creek, from the Burrard Bridge to Stanley Park.

Typical calls received by Beach Patrol include liquor seizures, assaults and fights, thefts, traffic enforcement and lost children and Vancouver Police work closely with Park Board staff.

“Our main focus is to create a safe family atmosphere at the beaches and parks,” says Kross. “We’re asking people to come down to the beaches and enjoy themselves responsibly and to respect others around them.”

Media release from Vancouver Police Department - June 30, 2010

Francesco Aquilini receives a Vancouver Police Foundation Chief's Circle membership award by VPD Chief Jim Chu and foundation chair Peter Armstrong. A Chief's Circle membership is $50,000.

Vancouver Police Foundation distributed $171,000 to 25 VPD grant applicants, $300,000 for the acquisition of a mobile command vehicle, $200,000 for the dog-squad training facility and $250,000 toward the purchase of an armoured rescue vehicle.

Vancouver Sun, June 28, 2010

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When the going gets tough, bring in the talking dog. Young people in an innovative Vancouver Community College program are using their newly acquired automotive-repair skills to assist the city’s street kids — with a little help from Scooby Doo.

Participants in the NasKarz program — designed to teach auto-shop work to at-risk kids, including car thieves and others simply interested in the automotive world — have almost completed the transformation of a donated van into the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, the vehicle that carries speaking-dog Scooby and his crew on crime-fighting missions in the TV cartoon and movies.

Read the full Vancouver Province article.

When we choose policing as a career, we can realistically expect that we will experience moments over the years that will test our character and affect us in a way that may change us forever.

There is always a danger that in the heat of the fray our humanity will make us vulnerable to actions or decisions that may not stand the test of public scrutiny.

But more often we will face our fears and find an inner strength of character and courage that truly earns us the title of Vancouver’s Finest.

Our reputation was tested recently under the most extraordinary circumstances. The men and women of the Vancouver Police Department were called upon to safely police an event of a size and scope that had never been seen in our city before and may never be seen again.

They showed the world their exceptional character. It was in the eyes of the members who linked arms and stood resolute and stoic as they were spit upon, assaulted and goaded by the criminal element within the protest groups. It was in their smiles and high-fives as they greeted hundreds of thousands of people in our city core. And it was in their determination to find and arrest those who threatened the safety of our residents and visitors.

In the entire 124 year history of the VPD, many would rightly claim that this was our proudest moment.

Following the Olympics there were some who expressed surprise that the VPD didn’t fulfil their dire predictions of excess and repression, but I wasn’t surprised. Over the years our members routinely make us proud by going Beyond the Call to deliver outstanding service to our citizens.

Today you will hear the stories of many who have sacrificed on our behalf. You will hear of police dedication, civilian courage and community service.

I hope you will find inspiration in their stories as I have.

Click here to download the 2010 Certificate of Merit Awards.

Grants will be awarded subject to the criteria found within the Vancouver Police Foundation charter, specifically, as follows:

• promoting programs of research and education relating to law enforcement
• encouraging public participation in law enforcement
• emphasizing the role of the police in the community
• encouraging community awareness of the problems of crime and crime prevention

Proposals must be submitted to Valerie MacLean, Executive Director, Vancouver Police Foundation, c/o Office of the Chief Constable.

All proposals must include:

1. A detailed outline of the proposal, including all costs to be incurred, timelines etc.
2. Identification of the specific person responsible and accountable for the processing of funds and project evaluation.
3. Source(s) of additional funding, if available. While it is our wish to assist as much as possible it may be necessary for you to seek out additional funding as well. If this is the case please itemize what that process will be and names of other funders.
4. A completed grant application form. The grant application form is available online.

NOTE: Applications must be forwarded through the chain of command and receive the endorsement of the Divisional Commander. Applications received without such approval will not be eligible and will be returned to the applicant.

The proposals will be reviewed relative to the Vancouver Police Foundation criteria. Following this process, the authors of the projects that have been selected for consideration will be invited to present their proposal at the next meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

Proposals with the highest likelihood of approval will be those that are unique and creative but which cannot be funded by means of the regular operational and/or administrative budget of the Vancouver Police Department.

It should be noted that the Foundation prefers to grant “seed money” to assist in the commencement of a project, with additional funding coming from other sources such as the community. The Trustees also prefer to give “one-time only” grants. Funds will go to projects under the direct control of the Vancouver Police Department, not outside agencies.

An evaluation report to the Foundation is due within six months of the grant approval.

Grant Applications must be submitted no later than May 1, 2010.