The Winnipeg Police Service Partner with the Western Hockey League
Chief Danny Smyth
In my column on June 2, we talked about Community Engagement and how we rely on the public’s cooperation and assistance. Effective crime prevention collaboration may mean fewer calls for service and fewer resources required. We cannot protect if we are overwhelmed, outnumbered or unaware of where or when the risks are, who is in need or how we can help. How does our community assist with crime prevention (we know we cannot do it all) if they do not have the tools or are afraid to call us or work with us?
As Superintendent Bonnie Emerson noted, community engagement requires connection and understanding. Essentially, no one will talk or engage with the police if they believe that nothing will happen, if they are to be ignored or if they do not trust/are afraid (of us). We must therefore build a relationship, and we must engage talk and trust. We must know each other.
The Winnipeg Police Service Community Relations Unit is committed to providing education and awareness around various topics impacting the community. At the start of this new school year (for all ages), the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse in sports is a relevant topic to discuss. A call for action and change is at the forefront for educators, law enforcement and the media.
In today’s article, Inspector Max Waddell talks about his community outreach through major junior hockey in Manitoba. Many of us will remember Max’s role as the face of our Organized Crime Division for many years. However, few know of his role behind the scene helping support and mentor teenage and young adult hockey players utilizing the Player Impact Program developed by the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Max Waddell, Commander
West District
As a young farm boy in a small western Manitoba community, some of my fondest memories were sitting in front of the television on Saturday night, waiting for Hockey Night in Canada to begin. People in other parts of the world would think we were crazy for running to the outdoor rink or pond in 20 below zero and playing our beloved game for hours. Hockey is a Canadian rite of passage. Like 550,000 other Canadian kids, I, too, had dreams of one day growing up and donning the jersey of my favourite hockey team and one day playing in the NHL.
As I grew older, I came to realize that the Canadian infatuation with hockey goes far deeper than just playing in the NHL one day. Not only is it an extremely fast and competitive game requiring exceptional skill and coordination, but hockey is a game that builds character. Young people contribute to something that is bigger than themselves. They work together as a team and learn how to stay positive in the midst of adversity. Leaders emerge. In essence, a lot of characteristics that are developed in hockey will determine someone’s success in life.
Consider the parallels between hockey and policing. In policing, leaders emerge as well. A police officer’s strength and character enable them to put the needs of the community before their own needs and safety. The police officers should model the values of the community they serve.
The father of modern police himself, Sir Robert Peele, introduced his Principles of Modern Policing in 1829. Principle 7 expresses that the police must “at all times maintain a relationship with the public” and that “the public are the police and the police are the public;” the only difference being that “police are the only ones who are paid to give full attention to the duties incumbent on every citizen.”
If this level of community engagement seems lost, then what two better traditions than hockey and policing to find it? My mission is for the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) to ‘take the ice’ with hockey players, coaches and parents and take a more active role in developing our future leaders. Mentorship and education could not be more important. This is where I believe community engagement is so important.
The WPS has the spirit of community engagement stitched into its very fabric. We can use the organization’s core values to “work collaboratively with the community agencies” in order to build stronger relationships with the hockey agencies and develop leaders of character.
The members of the WPS have strong roots in the hockey culture. Our members are often the defaulted coaches and managers of our community’s minor hockey because of their strong character and leadership qualities, and values.
This was the spirit and inspiration for the development of the Player Impact Program.
The Player Impact Program was developed by the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2015 and delivers educational topics such as social media use, relationships and consent, drugs and alcohol, gambling, inclusiveness and players as role models in the communities.
The WHL is a world-class organization whose players are amongst the 1 in 4000 players in Canada selected to play in the NHL. Along with that level of competitiveness comes great expectations and pressure. Without positive guidance, these young players may be vulnerable to making poor choices in their lives and, in some cases, victimizing others.
I have been involved in the hockey community as a player, coach or manager for my entire life, and it has shaped my character as it has so many Canadians. I feel an obligation to give back to the hockey community. I am honoured to be invited to be a part of the Player Impact Program, whose objective it is to provide mentoring and guidance to members of our hockey community and to fuse the hockey and policing communities.
The WHL Security Network manages the Player Impact Program and appoints a liaison in each region. Because of my involvement with the Winnipeg Ice Hockey Club of the WHL and my position with the WPS, I have been designated to operate the program in Manitoba.
The mission of the WHL Player Impact Program is to partner with police agencies for all 22 teams in the WHL in an effort to not only mentor our young people but to educate them on the law and what is appropriate and inappropriate, moral and immoral, ethical and unethical, legal and illegal behaviour.
When the culture of the highest and most respected levels of hockey, like the WHL, for instance, is one of inclusiveness and values, it has a trickle-down effect on all lower levels in the hockey community.
The Player Impact Program has now extended from the WHL to the 13 teams and well over 300 players, coaches and managers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL). The success of the Player Impact Program has paved the road for the MJHL, which is now developing a program of its own modelled after it.
Detectives TJ Spruyt and Jeff Vincent of the WPS Sex Crimes Unit are stepping up and joining the team by developing and delivering presentations to all MJHL teams educating them on the laws of sexual conduct and abuse.
If ‘the public are the police and the police are the public’ as Peele declared, then this partnership between the police and Hockey Canada surely brings us closer to the founding father of law enforcement’s principles of policing.
For more information on the Player Impact Program and how you can get involved, click on the following hyperlinks.
https://www.mjhlhockey.ca/mjhl-partners-with-winnipeg-police-service