Friday, October 18, 2013
Surrey’s RCMP Honoured at Police Officer of the Year Awards
The Surrey Board of Trade’s 17th Annual Police Officer of the Year Awards was held on Thursday, October 17, at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel.
The presenting sponsor was the BC Lottery Corporation, with media sponsors the Now Newspaper, News 1130 and BC Business. The supporting sponsorship was in memory of Tara Singh Hayer.
Dressed in red serge uniforms, many members along with Surrey’s Auxiliary officers, civilian employees and volunteers joined members of Surrey’s business community to celebrate those chosen by their peers and the public as those most worthy to receive the two Police Officer of the Year awards, as well as awards for top Auxiliary Officer, most deserving municipal employee working with the police service, top volunteer and business partner.
The gathering was addressed by Chief Superintendent Bill Fordy, Officer in Charge of the Surrey Detachment; Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts; and President and CEO of Canada Wide Media, Peter Legge.
The Surrey RCMP Detachment, the largest in Canada and second largest municipal force in BC, has over 650 officers and hundreds of support staff.
The winners are: (full descriptions are noted below):
Police Officer of the Year - Nominated by Community
-Sponsored by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board
Staff Sergeant Dean Scott
Police Officer of the Year - Nominated by Peers
-Sponsored by Blackwood Partners/Central City
Constable Taylor Quee
Arnold Silzer Community Policing Initiative Award
-Sponsored by Simon Fraser University
Special Constables Josh Waltman and Simon Wong
Police & Business Partnership Award
-Sponsored by McQuarrie Hunter LLP
Tino Fluckiger – 1-800-SHREDDING
Municipal Employee of the Year
-Sponsored by BC Lottery Corporation
Colleen Staresina
Auxiliary Constable of the Year
-Sponsored by the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel
Auxiliary Constable Lubos Hrasko
Volunteer of the Year
-Sponsored by ICBC
Cheryl Gardner
Police Team Award
-Sponsored by Whalley Printers
Serious Crime Team 1
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-Sponsored by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board
Staff Sergeant Dean Scott
Staff Sergeant Dean Scott has served as a member of the RCMP for more than 35 years and is now the Staff Sergeant for District 2, Guildford. Staff Sergeant Dean Scott and his team work closely with Guildford Town Centre on matters of security, identifying suspects, apprehending them, and keeping the environment safe, clean and customer friendly, in order to improve the perception of the Guildford area. Through his continued commitment, he has been instrumental in reducing crime in the area and creating a plan to handle the influx of patrons that will now be coming to the Guildford area. Under the leadership of Dean Scott, crime in the District 2 area has greatly been reduced. Ask anyone who calls on Dean for help and you will receive glowing reports on his compassion, willingness to help, and his dedication to a job well done. Staff Sergeant Dean Scott is the perfect example of a dedicated and engaged leader.
Police Officer of the Year – Nominated by Peers
-Sponsored by Blackwood Partners/Central City
Constable Taylor Quee
During the past 3 years Constable Taylor Quee has sought improvements regarding the interactions that police and other agencies have with clients that exhibit mental health issues. Her passion for working with Mental Health clients developed during her various postings in Surrey Detachment. Her observations led her to believe that improvements could be made regarding the amount of time police and other agencies were spending with certain prolific clients. She standardized the way in which police and other agencies dealt with Mental Health clients. Constable Quee took a lead role and put structure to the Mental Health Forum. In a self-generated pilot project, she created a client base for the Forum. She coordinated and researched how other North American police agencies respond to their Mental Health clients and interviewed personnel from 10 different police departments. From that, she crafted a business case that recommended, and ultimately led to, the creation of a new position, Police Mental Health Liaison Officer.
Volunteer of the Year
-Sponsored by ICBC
Cheryl Gardner
In 2008, Cheryl became involved with the Surrey RCMP as a Block Watch Captain. Her enthusiasm for crime prevention initiatives provided by the Surrey RCMP evolved into becoming a district volunteer as well. Within her role as a Block Watch Captain, Cheryl reinvigorated the Block Watch for her complex, which was on the verge of dissolving. The condo building she lives in was experiencing nuisance crimes, so Cheryl arranged for a security assessment on the building and took the necessary steps to implement the change. Some of these changes include nightly patrols of the exterior of the building to ensure all exit doors are properly locked and keeping tabs on vehicles parked within the visitor parking. She assists with the maintenance of Block Watch files, generates Speed Watch letters warning registered owners that their vehicle was speeding, assists clients at the front counter or over the phone and a variety of other miscellaneous tasks. Wherever she is, she finds the opportunity to promote crime prevention programs, encouraging residents to join Block Watch to improve their neighbourhoods.
Auxiliary Constable of the Year
-Sponsored by the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel
Auxiliary Constable Lubos Hrasko
Lubos became an Auxiliary Constable on December 17, 2005. He has dedicated thousands of hours to the Auxiliary program, some years exceeding 600 hours. With this experience, Lubos was soon recognized by his peers as a leader - a go-to person, and trusted by the members as a reliable, experienced “2nd member” in the car. During his time as an Auxiliary, Lubos has been stationed at the South Surrey District 5 Office. The Auxiliary Coordinator awarded Lubos’ experience and leadership through a senior Auxiliary status. Auxiliary Constables with limited experience would be paired with Lubos at events and community patrols to gain insight and experience from him. Lubos approached the District 5 office with a new initiative which would allow an experienced auxiliary to be paired with another auxiliary to attend to areas known as “hotspots” to provide visibility and presence to these active areas. These initiatives have been both beneficial and productive.
Arnold Silzer Community Policing Initiative Award
-Sponsored by Simon Fraser University
Special Constables Josh Waltman and Simon Wong
Special Constables Waltman and Wong are both recent recipients of Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medals. They are tuned in to the needs of local businesses and the community, and support the District 1 Community Response Unit. Josh and Simon often volunteer at other community events, whether it be as dancers in a youth flash mob or dressed like Santa and his Elf at a Senior’s Christmas dinner. As the Surrey RCMP polices a large geographical area, and the downtown core attracts a large police presence, Simon and Josh helped identify the need to improve the RCMP’s presence in the outer skirts of the neighborhood. They did so by putting RCMP Pop-Up Police Stations in areas that weren’t visited as frequently by police. At these highly visible stations, they put up RCMP tents, manned the sites along with Crime Prevention Coordinators, police officers, and volunteers.
Police and Business Partnership Award
-Sponsored by McQuarrie Hunter LLP
Tino Fluckiger, 1-800-SHREDDING
Since 2009, 1-800-SHREDDING has donated their time and equipment multiple times per year for Shred-A-Thon events held in Surrey. The company’s owner, Tino is very community minded and enjoys seeing the good that this event brings. The event is well received by the community and besides the goal of preventing Identity Theft, cash and food donations are collected for local Food Banks. Thanks to 1-800-SHREDDING these events enable small businesses to save money while preventing Identity Theft. To-date, close to $20,000 has been raised for the Food Banks in North and South Surrey. Tino and the staff from 1-800-SHREDDING have always stepped up to be there with their large truck for these events. They assist the public with unloading their vehicles and getting the paper into their truck for shredding.
Municipal Employee of the Year Award
-Sponsored by BC Lottery Corporation
Colleen Staresina
In April 2007, Colleen began her employment at City of Surrey RCMP. Looking for a volunteer opportunity, she took up the call to assist with the SPURS Youth group of the Surrey RCMP. Currently, Colleen is also in her sixth year on the board of the Block Watch Society of BC. As President she travels to various jurisdictions around the province as a volunteer to assist with their Block Watch programs or start new ones. She also sits as Treasurer on the Board of the BC Crime Prevention Association, is an Emergency Social Services volunteer and a Block Watch Captain on her own residential street, and has worked for three years as a Big Sister in the school mentoring program. Colleen initiated and developed a training session for landlords called “So You Want To Be a Landlord” in response to landlord/tenant issues. This program is now being shared in other police jurisdictions. In February 2013, Colleen was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for her lifetime commitment to the community and her volunteer work.
Police Team Award
-Sponsored by Whalley Printers
Serious Crime Team 1
The Surrey Detachment Major Crime Section has three Serious Crime teams, each consisting of one Sergeant Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge, three Corporals, and three Constables. The mandate of the Serious Crime Unit is investigating the most serious criminal offences that occur in the City of Surrey, not limited to: Homicides, Attempted Murder, Aggravated Assault, Assault with a Weapon, Kidnapping, Unlawful Confinement, Suspicions Sudden Deaths, and Internal Investigations and Reviews as directed by the Officer In Charge of Investigative Services. Serious Crime Team 1 demonstrates the advanced and strategic investigative skill and experience of the team coupled with their ability to gather admissible evidence within the realms of the law and knowledge of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada. The level of commitment, dedication, and perseverance exemplified by Serious Crime Team 1 has significantly contributed to community safety in Surrey.
Source:
Anita Patil Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade
An Accredited Chamber of Commerce with Distinction from the Chamber Accreditation Council of Canada
Direct: 604-634-0342
Cell: 604-340-3899
www.businessinsurrey.comPublished/Posted as courtesy by Johan Sandstrom, BComm. www.whiterockreporter.com
johanpublisher@gmail.com
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