Posts by Amanda Wong
JIBC RIX Building Upgrades
JIBC RIX Building Upgrades
Donald B. Rix Public Safety Simulation Building
Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC)
The Rix Family Foundation generously provided the Donald B. Rix Theatre and training room, a standalone facility located on the JIBC’s New Westminster campus and now operating within the Police Academy footprint. With the support of Police Academy Director Jennifer Keyes and two years of dedicated work, the space was completely overhauled and transformed into a specialized training hall for recruits.
In collaboration with JIBC Facilities, particularly Julie Brown and Dave Atchinson, a series of upgrades were made to the space, including the installation of a sprung floor, upgraded audiovisual capabilities, and additional facility improvements. Today, we have become the leading-edge physical skills training floor for any police academy in Canada.
We are deeply grateful to the Rix Family Foundation for their generosity. Their contribution continues to have a lasting impact, with hundreds of recruits benefiting each year as this gift is continually paid forward through training and service.
Competency-Based Management Framework for Canadian Policing
Competency-Based Management Framework for Canadian Policing
Director of Outreach and Communications |
Canadian Police Knowledge
Network (CPKN)
Under the leadership of Dominic Mallett, Innovation Advisor, Department of Innovation, CPKN; Dr. Angela Ripley, Organizational Psychologist and Education Consultant; and in collaboration with the Competencies Subcommittee of CPKN’s National Advisory Committee, this modernization marks a vital advancement in aligning police competencies with the evolving landscape in society.
Originally developed by the Police Sector Council in 2013, the CBMF has not been revised until this year. Due to a growing need from police services across Canada, this comprehensive review ensured the framework remained relevant, accurate, effective, and reflective of contemporary needs within Canadian policing. The updated CBMF now comprises 22 core competencies, a reduction from the initial 52. It has been reorganized into two primary areas: Personal Skills and Leadership Skills, which are further subdivided into six domains, each encapsulating specific core competencies.
Read the CPKN article here.
Read the full report here.
Applied Research for Safer Communities
Applied Research for Safer Communities
President's Applied Research Chair |
CPSAR
The Centre for Public Safety Applied Research (CPSAR) at Lethbridge Polytechnic collaborates with over 43 justice-sector partners to address public safety challenges through applied research. With over 17 active faculty researchers, CPSAR supports evidence-based practices, student engagement, and community resilience. CPSAR projects span policing, corrections, and courts, integrating Indigenous knowledge and virtual reality tools. CPSAR fosters innovation across public safety, emphasizing real-world impact, industry collaboration, and experiential learning to advance social, technological, and environmental solutions.
JIBC Synthetic Media Course
JIBC Synthetic Media Course
Advanced Police Training |
Justice Institute of British Columbia
The first of its kind in Canada, this course equips law enforcement professionals with the knowledge, skills, and tools to identify, investigate, and mitigate crimes involving Artificial Intellifence (AI)-generated content.
Participants begin with foundational awareness, exploring synthetic media technologies (e.g., GANs, voice cloning) and their criminal applications, from fraud to disinformation. Through hands-on exercises, they gain proficiency with detection techniques-spotting visual and auditory cues, using forensic tools, and critiquing AI-based detectors. The course dives into investigative strategies, emphasizing evidence collection, chain of custody, and Canadian legal frameworks, with real-world case studies (e.g., deepfake scams) tailored to participants' roles. Mitigation strategies, interagency collaboration, and emerging trends round out the training, empowering officers to proactively address synthetic media threats.
Designed for police officers and police department civilian crime analysts and IT specialists, this course blends theory with practical application, ensuring relevance to diverse law enforcement domains. By course end, participants will confidently tackle synthetic media challenges, leveraging JIBC resources and relevant insights.
See the JIBC course page here.
Exposures to Potentially Traumatic Events Among Public Safety Personnel in Canada
Exposures to Potentially Traumatic Events Among Public Safety Personnel in Canada
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science
DOI: 10.1037/cbs0000115
Abstract:
Canadian Public Safety Personnel (e.g., correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, and police) are regularly exposed to potentially traumatic events, some of which are highlighted as critical incidents warranting additional resources. Unfortunately, available Canadian public safety personnel data measuring associations between potentially traumatic events and mental health remains sparse. The current research quantifies estimates for diverse event exposures within and between several categories of public safety personnel. Participants were 4,441 public safety personnel (31.7% women) in 1 of 6 categories (i.e., dispatchers, correctional workers, firefighters, municipal/provincial police, paramedics, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Participants reported exposures to diverse events including sudden violent (93.8%) or accidental deaths (93.7%), serious transportation accidents (93.2%), and physical assaults (90.6%), often 11+ times per event. There were significant relationships between potentially traumatic event exposures and all mental disorders. Sudden violent death and severe human suffering appeared particularly related to mental disorder symptoms, and therein potentially defensible as critical incidents. The current results offer initial evidence that (a) potentially traumatic event exposures are diverse and frequent among diverse Canadian public safety personnel; (b) many different types of exposure can be associated with mental disorders; (c) event exposures are associated with diverse mental disorders, including but not limited to posttraumatic stress disorder, and mental disorder screens would be substantially reduced in the absence of exposures; and (d) population attributable fractions indicated a substantial reduction in positive mental disorder screens (i.e., between 29.0 and 79.5%) if all traumatic event exposures were eliminated among Canadian public safety personnel.
Read the full report here.
Mental health training, attitudes toward support, and screening positive for mental disorders
Mental health training, attitudes toward support, and screening positive for mental disorders
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
DOI: 10.1080/16506073.2019.1575900
Abstract:
Public Safety Personnel (PSP; e.g. correctional workers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police) are frequently exposed to potentially traumatic events (PTEs). Several mental health training program categories (e.g. critical incident stress management (CISM), debriefing, peer support, psychoeducation, mental health first aid, Road to Mental Readiness [R2MR]) exist as efforts to minimize the impact of exposures, often using cognitive behavioral therapy model content, but with limited effectiveness research. The current study assessed PSP perceptions of access to professional (i.e. physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, employee assistance programs, chaplains) and non-professional (i.e. spouse, friends, colleagues, leadership) support, and associations between training and mental health. Participants included 4,020 currently serving PSP participants. Data were analyzed using cross-tabulations and logistic regressions. Most PSP reported access to professional and non-professional support; nevertheless, most would first access a spouse (74%) and many would never, or only as a last resort, access professional support (43–60%) or PSP leaders (67%). Participation in any mental health training category was associated with lower (p < .01) rates for some, but not all, mental disorders, with no robust differences across categories. Revisions to training programs may improve willingness to access professional support; in the interim, training and support for PSP spouses and leaders may also be beneficial.
Read the full report here.
CPKN Releases 2025 Annual Literature Review: Highlighting Key Trends in Policing
CPKN Releases 2025 Annual Literature Review Highlighting Key Trends in Policing
Communications Coordinator |
Canadian Police Knowledge
Network (CPKN)
The Canadian Police Knowledge Network (CPKN) has published its 2025 Annual Literature Review, offering a comprehensive, evidence-based summary of the trends shaping police education and professional development in Canada and the United States.
Four key themes are identified in this review: mental health and wellness, police militarization and use of force, the impact of social media on police-public interactions, and the integration of emerging technologies. Using open-access research from 2024, this review offers valuable insights to help shape training, policy, and leadership decisions.
Read the CPKN article here.
Read the full report here.
Equity Forward: Advancing Inclusion and Anti-Oppression Training in Policing
Equity Forward: Advancing Inclusion and Anti-Oppression Training in Policing
Program Coordinator | Police Foundations
Georgian College
Visible minorities in Canada often distrust the criminal justice system due to continued overt, covert and systemic racism. In particular, police are felt to target them unjustifiably (Ungerleider & McGregor, 1993). Continued incidents of police brutality and discrimination against minority groups have raised concerns about the need for further training and questioned the adequacy of police training programs (Andersen et al., 2023; Idoko, 2024). Despite the recent focus on effectively policing diverse communities, there is a paucity of research on the types of diversity programs and their effectiveness in improving police-community relations in Canada.
This research project aims to expand on the limited research available on diversity training in Canadian police services by working closely with two police services in Ontario to address their needs. The goals are to identify the main issues in their communities concerning policecommunity relationships, develop inclusion and anti-oppression training, and assess its effectiveness over time. This three-year project will utilize a sequential mixed methods design. This study seeks to work closely with two police services, which are both forward-thinking and innovative organizations, to identify critical concerns in their
communities as they relate to police-community relations, to develop an IATP customized to their communities' specific needs and to assess its effectiveness over time. Our research project has the potential to significantly impact, and drive innovation related to diversity training programs for police officers in Canada.
Read the Georgian College article here.
Dr. Kim Rossmo
C.A.P.E. 2026 Conference
Policing the Future: What's Important Now
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Kim Rossmo
Professor - Texas State University, School of Criminal Justice & Criminology
Dr. Kim Rossmo is the Director of the Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation and professor at Texas State University. He holds a PhD from Simon Fraser University and is published in environmental criminology, crime geography, and criminal investigations.
A former Detective Inspector who led the Vancouver Police Department’s Geographic Profiling Section, Dr. Rossmo has also served as Director of Research for the Police Foundation and as a consultant with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He is a member of the IACP Advisory Committee for Police Investigative Operations, sits on the editorial board for Homicide Studies, and is an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University.
His research has been supported by numerous federal grants, including work on terrorist cell structures, wrongful convictions, and offender decision-making. He is the author of Geographic Profiling, Criminal Investigative Failures, and a Texas crime atlas, and has received honours such as the Sterling Prize and the Governor General of Canada Police Exemplary Service Medal.
2026 Conference | Policing the Future: What’s Important Now
"Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present" ~Albert Camus
The C.A.P.E. Executive team would like to invite you and your colleagues to attend the 2026 CAPE Conference in New Westminster, British Columbia on May 5th-7th 2026 in partnership with the Vancouver Police Department, the JIBC Police Academy and the University of the Fraser Valley.
The conference will primarily take place at the Inn at the Quay (900 Quayside Dr, New Westminster, BC V3M 6G1) and will cover topics around the theme of Policing the Future: What's Important Now.
Why Attend?
The C.A.P.E. Conference is a unique opportunity to collaborate and share knowledge with a diverse selection of peers and professionals in policing education.
The conference allows for an exchange of best teaching and training practices with partners across Canada.
Keynote Speaker
Topic: Causes and Prevention of Criminal Investigative Failures; Looking Back to Face Forward
Dr. Kim Rossmo
Professor - School of Criminal Justice & Criminology
Dr. Kim Rossmo is a professor and Director of the Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation at Texas State University. He holds a PhD from Simon Fraser University and is published in environmental criminology, crime geography, and criminal investigations.
A former Detective Inspector who led the Vancouver Police Department’s Geographic Profiling Section, Dr. Rossmo has also served as Director of Research for the Police Foundation and as a consultant with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He is a member of the IACP Advisory Committee for Police Investigative Operations, sits on the editorial board for Homicide Studies, is a former Austin Public Safety Commission chair, and is an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University.
His research has been supported by numerous federal grants, including work on terrorist cell structures, wrongful convictions, and offender decision-making. He is the author of Geographic Profiling, Criminal Investigative Failures, and a Texas crime atlas, and has received honours such as the Sterling Prize and the Governor General of Canada Police Exemplary Service Medal.
Stay tuned for more information on additional speakers and activities.
Accommodation
Inn at the Quay
900 Quayside Dr, New Westminster, BC V3M 6G1
C.A.P.E. Conference Rate: $249/night
Available: May 4th-May 7th
Subject to availability, our conference rate expires on March 5, 2026. Reservations made after this date will be at the hotel’s regular rates and availability.
Due to limited availability, we encourage you to reserve your room ASAP. You can use the booking link below or contact the hotel directly and indicate you are booking for the C.A.P.E. 2026 conference.
Underground and surface parking is available. Twenty-four-hour parking for overnight hotel guests is currently $17 plus 34% tax per vehicle, per night.
Thank you to our C.A.P.E. 2026 Partners and Sponsors
