Thunder Bay Police Service
Cst. Jeff Saunders is a School Resource Officer with the Thunder Bay Police Service’s Community Services Branch. But to students and the youth he connects with, he has a more simplified title.
“They just call me Jeff,” says Cst. Saunders.
Cst. Saunders is one half of the School Resource Unit. He primarily focuses on southside schools while his partner, Cst. Frank Tropea, maintains responsibility for the northside. The unit’s north-and-south divide is not a strict jurisdictional border; the reality of their day-to-day duties means the officers will regularly work together regardless of a school’s location.
Earlier in August Cst. Saunders joined Aboriginal Liaison Unit officer Cst. Gary Cambly to participate in the Lakehead Public Schools’ Mino Bimaadiziwin Youth Leadership Program.
The school board’s Youth Leadership program is based on traditional cultural teachings and focuses on: key life skills, leadership development, healthy relationships, positive self-esteem, self-awareness and connections to education.
Thunder Bay Police Service officers routinely participate in the summer program as instructors and mentors. They participate in a variety of activities and lead an introduction to archery course for the students.
For Cst. Jeff Saunders, who participated in the program for a third straight year this summer, the camp is an opportunity to make positive connections with students he’s likely to interact with during the school year.
“We’re not just establishing a relationship with the kids here,” Cst. Saunders says, explaining that the positive relationships created at Mino Bimaadiziwin help officers connect with friends of those participating students.
“We might see these students in school and I’ll say hi to them and one of their friends will say ‘what are you doing talking to the police?’ They’ll tell their friends ‘oh, that’s my friend, Jeff.
“I just love this program. This is my third year and if I’m invited to come back again, that’ll just be awesome.”
During his participation at the Mino Bimaadiziwin Youth Leadership Camp, Cst. Saunders and Cst. Cambly remain in plain clothes. The youth are aware they’re members of the Thunder Bay Police Service, but their entire relationship is built in the absence of a badge, uniform and rank.
The first time students see these officers in uniform is on the camp’s graduation day.
At that point, with or without police attire, the students see him as “just Jeff.”
Learn more about the Mino Bimaadiziwin Youth Leadership program here: https://indspire.ca/successfulpractices/mino-bimaadiziwin-youth-leadersh...