BPS teams up with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection

Brandon – The Brandon Police Service is working with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (Canadian Centre) to help keep kids safe by offering free online child sexual abuse awareness training to individuals who are completing criminal record checks in order to work or volunteer with children.

Child sexual abuse is a much bigger problem than many people realize. In July 2017, Statistics Canada reported a 30% increase in sexual violations against children in one year[a]. One in 10 children will be sexually abused before they turn 18[b], and in the majority of cases, the victims know their offenders[c].

“The Brandon Police Service is proud to partner with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection on this very important initiative.” Said Ian Grant, Chief of Police, Brandon Police Service. “We are proud to be the first Police Service in Canada to offer this training to people interested in getting a criminal record check completed. Our youth are our future and we need to work together using a variety of means to help keep them safe and free from victimization”.

The training is part of the Canadian Centre’s Commit to Kids program, which helps child-serving organizations create safe environments for children. This online training is essential for those working with children in a volunteer or professional capacity.

“Brandon is the first police service in Canada to offer the training to people who are getting criminal record checks and we are very proud to work with them,” said Noni Classen, Director of Education at the Canadian Centre. “Criminal record checks are a great first step, but there is so much more that can be done. This training is an important part of learning how to play a key role in helping keep our kids safe.”

Since the Canadian Centre launched this online training last summer, more than 6,000 people across the country have completed it. Through this professional development opportunity participants will learn about the importance of professional boundaries, child disclosure and reporting – building their capacity to help keep kids safe. In the time it takes to watch a movie, participants will learn information that could protect a child from abuse.