Oshawa, Ont. - Partners for more than a decade, Durham College and the Durham Regional Police Service officially opened the brand-new Centre for Integrated Justice Studies (CIJS) this morning at the college's Oshawa campus.
An estimated 300 police officers, police administrators, government officials, guests, and Durham college students, faculty and staff turned out to celebrate the grand opening of this one-of-a-kind centre.
The two-storey building, which covers 23,500 square feet, houses a moot court, classrooms, special training facilities, a computer lab, a conference room and faculty offices. With a judge's bench, witness stand and other accoutrements, the moot court-a first for Durham College-closely resembles a court of law.
Since construction was completed in January, the centre has been home to about 650 students and 20 professors in Durham College's schools of Administrative and Justice Studies. The facility is also the new home of the Police Learning Centre which is operated by the Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS). Through this facility the DRPS organizes and delivers training to recruits as well as provides in-service courses and training to police officers and administrators.
"While a few Ontario colleges have a similar facility, Durham is the only college in the province where all its justice programs use the same space," remarked Bert Dejeet, dean of the schools of Administrative Studies and Justice Studies at Durham College.
The new centre is a tremendous benefit to our students and faculty, Dejeet added. For example, students in the Police Foundations and Legal Administration programs can get a police officer's as well as a lawyer's view on a point of law. In addition, one of the new training rooms has a viewing platform from which students and officers can observe use-of-force training.
The police are equally pleased with the new building.
"We've been conducting training at Durham College for more than a decade and the new centre gives us superior facilities, including a moot court and computer lab, which allow us to provide better training to our officers," said Kevin McAlpine, chief, Durham Regional Police Service.
Last year alone, the Police Learning Centre delivered more than 90,000 hours of training to 2,500 police officers. As well, DRPS and Durham College are among the co-developers of the two-week Leader program. Unique in Ontario, the program provides continuing management training to police staff sergeants and inspectors from across the province.
As part of the partnership between Durham College and the Durham Regional Police Service, one officer is seconded to teach in the college's Justice Studies programs for a two-year term, while some Durham professors teach courses offered through the Police Learning Centre. In addition, Durham College students have special opportunities to participate as volunteers in various activities such as training sessions and courtroom simulations.
media contact:
Catherine Shearer-Kudel
(905) 721-3111, ext. 2162
email: catherine.shearer-kudel@durhamc.on.ca
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