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Hands-on crime-fighting course coming to Victoria

The Justice Institute of B.C. plans to add a Victoria class this fall to its popular diploma program for students who want to pursue a career in law enforcement.

The Justice Institute of B.C. plans to add a Victoria class this fall to its popular diploma program for students who want to pursue a career in law enforcement.

The institute launched the Law Enforcement Studies Diploma program on the Lower Mainland in 2009 with just 17 students. It now enrolls about 125 people a year in five classes, said co-ordinator Steve McCartney.

“We had a number of young people in Victoria that were interested in taking the program, but they couldn’t afford living arrangements here on the Lower Mainland,” he said.

“So it seemed like we had enough calls, where it’s logical to explore starting a program there.”

The program, which costs about $12,000 over two years, offers courses in computer-based investigations, research methods, Canadian criminal law, applied law enforcement, applied ethics and conflict resolution.

McCartney said the program’s popularity stems from its hands-on approach. Many of the instructors are former or active law enforcement officers who bring real-life experience to the classroom.

“I think our real strength is our instructors,” he said. “We’ll get homicide investigators that come out and they’ll teach an ethics course.”

The program would be offered in Victoria at the institute’s campus on Fort Street. McCartney said instructors are expected to include Saanich deputy chief Bob Downie, former police officer Tom Woods, and Ed Illi, a former Saanich police officer who went on to become B.C.’s chief conservation officer.

“The unique aspect of it is that it’s taught just about 100 per cent by law enforcement professionals with their master’s degrees,” said Woods, who co-founded the Rock Solid Foundation that works to prevent youth violence. “It is a lot of book learning, and there is an academic component to it, but it’s actually cutting edge, real-time police or corrections or customs or border security [examples].”

McCartney, a former major crimes investigator, said students most appreciate the practical application of classroom theory as well as introductions to driving techniques, firearm safety and crime scene investigation.

“It’s not like other diplomas,” he said. “It’s an applied diploma. It’s hands-on.”

The institute does not guarantee entry into law enforcement. Graduates still face further training if they join a municipal police force, the RCMP or other agencies. But McCartney said students have gone on to careers in policing, corrections, the military, sheriff services and private security.

For more information, go to jibc.ca or the institute’s office at 810 Fort St.

lkines@timescolonist.com