Police conference talks opportunities, work environment for female officers

Hundreds of delegates from 35 countries are in Calgary for the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) conference this week.

The event focuses on empowering and supporting women in law enforcement while providing networking opportunities that span the globe.

Sueanne Ford, co-director of the 2018 IAWP, said having these opportunities to connect with other female officers is invaluable.

“I’ve been to a couple of conferences where you build friendships, you build mentorships and you build leadership,” she said. “It’s incredible.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I've been to a couple of conferences where you build friendships, you build mentorships and you build leadership," she said. "It's incredible."

This year’s IAWP conference is about leadership and change, especially from the female ranks.

Ford said this topic provides the Calgary Police Service among others with a good chance to see what best practices are being implemented internationally.

“We can learn from each other and network with each other… Move forward, lead that change and be accountable,” Ford said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We can learn from each other and network with each other… Move forward, lead that change and be accountable," Ford said.

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Calgary Police Chief Roger Chaffin attended the opening ceremonies on Sunday and stressed the importance of having a healthy work environment for all officers.

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CPS has had many sexual harassment and bullying complaints come to light in the past decade, including a 2013 workplace review that uncovered more than 60 complaints.

In January 2017, 14-year veteran Jennifer Magnus tearfully resigned during a Calgary Police Commission meeting, citing bullying and harassment in the workplace.

Chaffin said despite recent improvements over the last few years, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.

“As evolved as we’ve become and as evolved as all of our leadership models have become, we still have to be able to find trust and earn trust,” he said.

How to improve human resources and recruitment for female law enforcement was another topic at the conference — an area Chaffin said he wants to see Calgary improve.

“We can bring employees into the organization and create a better set of demographics,” Chaffin said, “but we still have to create a better environment and a better leadership model.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We can bring employees into the organization and create a better set of demographics," Chaffin said, "but we still have to create a better environment and a better leadership model."

Chaffin added that while it was not uncommon to see recruitment classes where up to 50 per cent of the recruits are female, after training and testing, only 19 per cent of the force is comprised of women.

LISTEN: S/Sgt. Bev Vorvos joins Rob Breakenridge to discuss the importance of having the annual IWAP conference

While many of the keynote speakers of the five-day conference will focus on female leadership, a wide array of other topics will be covered,= including community involvement, diversity and health and wellness.

The IWAP conference runs until August 30 at the BMO Centre.