True Blue Podcast

We're joined by Cst. Janis Carmena who continues to be off work with PTSD.  Janis talks about her incident that contributed to her not being able to continue to work on the road as a police officer.  Janis participated in the Tour de Rock Cancer ride in 2016 and discusses the emotional effort attached to that annual event that police have supported for so many years.  Janis wants other police...

Cst. Ryan Wilson joins us to talk about the VicPD Reserve Program.  Ryan tells us what the process for applying looks like and the training that a candidate will take on.  VicPD Reserves are depended on for their dedication and commitment to their community. Anyone wanting to volunteer their time with VicPD and gain valuable experience should visit the link below: https://joinvicpd.ca/ Sound editi...

Cst. Mark Jenkins is assigned to work as the Burnside-Gorge Community Resource Officer (CRO) at VicPD.  Mark has a very difficult job of working as liaison for the citizens in that zone and working with multiple supportive housing organizations all in an effort to harmonize the needs of both.  Mark is an excellent communicator and is willing to talk to anyone. Sound editing done by Todd Mason. Mor...

Host, Matt Waterman goes on a rant about the continuous problems we see at Victoria/Esquimalt Council table where elected officials keep playing politics with Public Safety. The Police Board system in BC is broken. Mental Health supports outside the police department need to be shored up. BC's Criminal Court process is allowing way too many criminals to roam our streets without considering th...

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a simple, natural technique... This form of meditation allows your body to settle into a state of profound rest and relaxation and your mind to achieve a state of inner peace, without needing to use concentration or effort. Many police officers and other first responders practice TM to help alleviate the stresses of the job, while others use it to reduce anxiety,...

We speak with Retired Saanich Police Chief Scott Green and hear from him after 34 years of service to his community.  Scott grew up as a Victoria Police kid; his father Detective Inspector Blake Green served for 32 years.  He talks about his diverse policing career that  prepared him for the ultimate position of Chief; he served as exhibit officer for the Reena Virk homicide, he spent many years o...

Meet the newest Executive member of the VCPU, Tom Stamatakis will hold the Director at Large position for 2022 through 2024, congratulations to Tom.  Hear him tell you about his career highlights and what he looks forward to as your Union representative. Tom plans to make sure the Union remains a voice of reason in the community and specifically to encourage the taxpayers of Victoria and Esquimalt...

You don't want to miss this episode!  Daryl Baswick interviews Jacqueline Zweng (JZ) who is the Executive Director of Wounded Warrior Run BC.  JZ is a serving member of the Cadet Instructor Cadre (CIC), a breast cancer survivor and the energy behind the Wounded Warrior Run on Vancouver Island. Her story of surviving cancer is amazingly emotional and she turns that story into motivation for so...

The True Blue Podcast introduces you to one more of the 7 new recruits from Class #167 being trained at the Police Academy in New Westminster in the Spring of 2022.   Cst. Steve Austin was born in Melbourne, Australia but grew up in Nanaimo; he is a dual citizen of Canada and Australia.  He has great experiences travelling the world before  becoming a police officer.   Steve set out for Nepal righ...

The True Blue Podcast introduces you to 2 of the 7 new recruits from Class #167 being trained at the Police Academy in New Westminster in the Spring of 2022.   Cst. Justin Reed and Cst. Chris Allen both previously served as Reserves with VicPD and you will hear from both of them about their own unique path to becoming a police officer.   Justin has a degree in Psychology from UBC, worked at the Ga...

Chris Coleman served on Council for the City of Victoria for 20 years.  His love of Victoria and it's people become evident in this interview.   Chris believes that if you're going to serve the public you should learn the most you can about all City functions.   Chris experienced multiple police ride-along adventures and got a chance to see the professionalism and dedication of police of...

Season 1 of the True Blue Podcast is dedicated to the memory of Marisa Neilson, may she Rest in Peace. The podcast team runs through the list of episodes and the list of topics to highlight our challenges, our successes and our goals for Season 2. Opioid Crisis; Meth Crisis; Mental Health Crisis; police involved shootings; illegal protests;   defund the police movement; Crime Severity Index; assau...

Two experienced Detectives from the Special Victims Unit (SVU) at VicPD talk to us about Human Trafficking (HT).  HT is a complicated crime that involves Force, Fraud and Coercion - it occurs in stages and it is very difficult to get out of.  Human Trafficking is one of Canada's fastest growing crimes.   Victoria Police doesn't currently have an HT Unit but many frontline officers have b...

Mike is the President of Citified Media which tracks the real estate construction industry in Greater Victoria.  He  joins us to chat about development in downtown Victoria.  The potential for new development is about to burst!  At times it seems amazing that developers would spend money in a downtown that isn't always that friendly or safe but the almighty dollar talks.  It's hard to di...

For generations, Canadians have dedicated their lives to preserve peace and freedom.  To honour those who have served and continue to serve, we pause for 2 minutes of silence on Remembrance Day.  Make November 11th the most unforgettable day of the year. Sgt. Sean Cowperthwaite served 20 years in Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) and as part of Canada's peacekeeping missions to C...

Canadians often take freedom for granted.   We have the right to exist and move about our country without threat, we are able to freely express ourselves, and we enjoy so many other freedoms that are protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This certainty has been threatened before; those who serve or have served in our armed forces for the good of Canada and their fellow Canad...

The True Blue Podcast introduces you to 2 more of the 6 new recruits from Class #166 being trained at the Police Academy in New Westminster in the Fall of 2021.   Cst. Chris McMahon and Cst. Matthew Wesley hadn't even been on the road at the time of this interview but you will hear from both of them about their own path to become a VicPD member.   Cst. McMahon is a 22 yr veteran of the Canadi...

Union President Len Hollingsworth joins us in the studio to set up these Bonus Episodes where we hear about the effects of the lack of resources and the increased hostility against our Union sisters and brothers.  In Part 1 of the Bonus Episode, you will hear from Cst. Jenny LeQuesne who was injured two years ago while apprehending a disturbed male in need of hospitalization.  The details of the a...

In Part 2, we have two more guests who will tell us about the violence police face everyday.  Cst. Jenna Carver and her partner Cst. Lisa Forcier were both assaulted in the course of their duties; Jenna was punched in the face and she can't get the images out of her head watching Lisa being assaulted.  Jenna describes the feeling of waiting, seemingly forever,  for help to arrive and how sati...

The True Blue Podcast introduces you to 2 of the 6 new recruits from Class #166 being trained at the Police Academy in New Westminster in the Fall of 2021.   Cst. Lee Jackson and Cst. Lyndon Jarvis hadn't even been on the road at the time of this interview but you will hear from both of them about their own path to become a VicPD member.   Anyone wanting to become a police officer should list...

Meet Bruce Williams, the CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce and hear him talk about the state of business in Victoria and area.  We discuss the need for a swift financial recovery as the pandemic restrictions are lifted.  Bruce talks about reducing crime and diversifying the economy to help get Victoria back on track.  The 1340 members of the Chamber have selected an excellent represe...

Guest host Daryl Baswick talks with Detective Bratzer who currently works in the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit and is well known for his successful BC Human Rights Tribunal case against the Victoria Police Department in 2013 - case heard in 2015 and decision released on 4/20/2016.  He served as President of L.E.A.P.  (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) and has given evidence in fr...

Join us on this episode and hear Jeff Bray talk about his vision for a vibrant and diverse downtown core in Victoria.  Jeff is the Executive Director at the Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA) and has great insight on street disorder problems and his opinion on decentralizing services that support the homeless population should be heard.  The DVBA  wants the BC Provincial Government to m...

This is an excellent interview with Tom Woods, Committee Chair of the Esquimalt Ribfest which occurs 10-12 September 2021 at Bullen Park in Esquimalt. https://www.esquimaltribfest.com/welcome/ https://www.facebook.com/EsquimaltRibfest Esquimalt Ribfest (@EsqRibFest) | Twitter Ribfest supports the Esquimalt Firefighters Charitable Foundation and partners with SD61 with a goal of putting in a turf f...

The Executive Director of Restorative Justice (RJ) Victoria drops into the podcast studio to talk about this important alternative measures program.  Gillian Lindquist has been working with Restorative Justice since 2009.  http://www.rjvictoria.com/ "Restorative Justice is a set of principles and values about how to deal with a harm or wrongdoing."  There is an opportunity for the people...