By Adam Brazeau
CORNWALL, Ontario – What better way for people to discover policing than by letting them in on the thrill of the job?
Bishop MacDonell’s Griffin Cholette, 9, helped process a staged crime scene many students likened to a CSI episode at the Cornwall Community Police Service (CCPS) east-end station open house on Thursday.
Along with fellow student Emily Brunet, 12, he examined the uniqueness of fingerprints through dusting and lifting them with the help of CCPS Const. Carole Lalonde as part of Police Week in Ontario (May 10-16).
The 2015 theme Discover Policing was right on target.
“This is so cool,” said nine-year-old Cholette.
Lalonde, a member of the CCPS forensics unit since 2013, told students that in Canada, unlike the U.S., a university degree is not required to be a forensic identification officer. If a cop exhibits the skills needed and a genuine interest, the service recommends training.
“A lot of officers get adrenaline going to a call, for me it’s working on the perfect print for three hours, sending it to the RCMP and in turn, catching the suspect,” said Lalonde.
She describes being on the road as a privilege, since officers help so many on the worst day of their life. But her new role provides closure to victims as well as families – sometimes years after the case went cold by searching for clues at the CCPS Pitt Street headquarters laboratory.
“If you do something bad, we will find it,” said Lalonde.
Meanwhile outside, the tasty smell of a barbecue fundraiser for Special Olympics Ontario wafted in the station’s parking lot, as students and local residents visited with representatives of several law enforcement agencies and community support groups.
“We rally all the local law departments, because we want the community to know who is serving and protecting them,” said CCPS Const. Jeff Lalonde. “The open house is a huge awareness booster we always look forward to.”
A series of information kiosks with equipment on display were manned by the SDG OPP, SLC police foundations program, Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA), Ministry of Natural Resources, Seaway Valley Crime Stoppers, Cornwall Emergency Response Team (CERT), CN Rail police, the SDG branch of the Ontario Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA), Triple P program of SDG-PR&A, Victim Services of SDG&A, and the Sexual Assault Support Services (SASS) of SDG&A.
