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Proposed Title: ARE OUR CANADIAN POLICE EDUCATED TO POLICE PUBLIC PROTEST?
Language: English
Estimated audience: 70-100
Presenters: (confirmed) Luis Alberto D’Elia. 3852 110 St., Edmonton, AB, T6J 1E4. Ph: 438-0635. E-mail:
Presentation medium: Power Point presentation
Brief:
Given
· the importance of the great narrative of security and the serious social implications of the new additional Canadian police powers under the post 9-11 security legislation, and
·
our presentation will focus on the importance of human rights education of security personnel that wants to become “professional” in the conflictive context of the new security framework.
The context
As police officers engage in keeping the peace, protecting the human rights of their citizens, and enforcing the law of the State, they face a paradox: the new security legislation and law enforcement policies that they are expected to enforce have undermined, in many Western countries, basic human rights of citizens that police are supposed to protect. As a result of new security powers, moreover, Canadian police, in particular, are in a position to deny people access to certain areas and restrict freedom of movement at large intergovernmental meetings, among other.
We will discuss:
· how police have used some of their discretionary powers in making crucial decisions that have had social implications using the examples of the 1997 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vancouver, the 2000’s Quebec City-Summit of the Americas, and the recent demonstrations around the G8 meeting in Kananaskis.
Our presentation will also discuss contextual issues related to police training:
· how police professional development is influenced by the push from the private industry (as part of the global neo-liberal predominant paradigm) to increase the role of private security in policing particularly in North America and in Australia.
· how international and national educational policy-setting organizations are considering the private financing of lifelong learning as a reality to be acknowledged and integrated in the educational process.
These two educational trends provide an important context for our discussion on the kind of professional development education that our police officers are receiving.
After examining the contextual and inherent characteristics of some representative Canadian police professional development programs, our presentation will provide evidences of institutional and planning constraints that limit a particular police program’s ability to achieve the community servicing goals that are sought by the institution and constrain the educational need to provide our police officers with higher professional (human rights) standards.
When the security discourse appears to increase the powers of police and to undermine basic rights of citizens to dissent, our police should become more educated on the rights and the defense of their citizens, specially when they are peacefully protesting. We mustn’t forget that citizens, the community, are the ones that legitimize police.