WEST VAN police ofticer Steve Watt’s interest in the legal end of.
policing began while working in Belfast, Northern freland.

Wednesday, Sepiomber 30, 1992 - North Shore News - 43

FOR THE past three years a West Vancouver Police of-
ficer has made it his job to equip new police recruits with

legal know-how.

Steve Watt was seconded to
teach law at the police academy of
the Justice Institute of B.C. in
Vancouver.

Said Phil Crosby-Jones, police
academy director, ‘‘As a criminal
law instructor he was probably the
best we've had here in a number
of years. He had the ability to
analyse law and take case law
decisions and break them down to
those elements thal are important
to a working police officer — to
determine how those decisions
impacted on the day-to-day ap-
plications of the enforcement of
law. He made it simple for them
to understand.”’

Crosby-Jones said that policing
instructors are- seconded on a
three-year basis to teach at the
police academy.

“That way we keep the know-
ledge and experience and the prac-
tice very current. They come from
the field, and they bring very re-
cent experience with them,’’ he
said.

Approximately 100 policing
recruits graduate yearly at the
academy.

The training centre alse offers
an extensive in-service training
program for people already serv-
ing with municipal police forces.

Over 40 specialty courses are

’ offered. Watt taught in this ca-
pacity as well.

“tHe doesn’t have a law degree,
but he certainly has made a study
of law, and he’s very practical in
his approach,’? said Crosby-
Jones.

His interest in the legal end of
policing began while serving as a

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police officer in Belfast.

“Te was one of those things
when I joined the police over in
ireland — the Royal Ulster
Constabulary — { initially got the
interest in law and 1 basically
self-studied through the years,”
‘Watt said.

When he met his wifc, she had
already planned to move to
Canada. Watt quit his job and
travelled to North America.

“I stayed out of policing at
first, because I really didn’t like
what I saw here. Police officers
seemed to be very ostracized from
the public.

“They were in motor vehicles,
on motorcycles. About the only
time you ever saw one was when
they were giving somebody a tick-
et.

‘*] came from policing where
even though there were a lot of
terrorist problems and violence,
the police officer was still looked
upon as a public information
source and people were not afraid
to just approach a police officer,”
he said.

At age 30 he decided to return
to policing.

Said Watt, ‘I looked at West
Vancouver and liked what I saw
there as far as the type of com-
munity policing that was avail-
able.

WATT TAILORED = program to
meet the needs of aboriginal
police recruits.

“For the number of depart-
ments in the Lower Mainland, it’s
one where you_can get in touch
with the community because of
the basic type of person that lives
there. You have the time to park
the car and go out for a walk and
spend the time to meet‘the peo-
ple.

While teaching at the police
academy, Watt wrote a_ legal
review manual,

“tried to put a package
together that would give a police
officer on the street ali of his
common law authority plus al! the
federal and provincial authority he
needs to perform to.a good
standard in the street,”’ he said.

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