December 3rd, 2009

Good Evening Your worship Mayor Goldsmith-Jones, Ladies and Gentlemen, fellow members, and volunteers of the West Vancouver Police Department.

Tonight we are here to celebrate the spirit of selfless giving.

But before I get too far down this road, and even though they may not be present here with us tonight, I want to take a brief moment to thank our sponsors for the important role they play in helping the WVPD and its volunteers deliver our many programs. As sponsors, you provide us with the means to deliver a policing service to a degree that is unmatched anywhere in the world.

By supporting West Vancouver Police volunteer and police programs, you send a message that you care enough about the fabric of our community, and are willing to put your bankbook where your heart is. I know that this past year has been a very hard and challenging year and you’ve had to make some very hard choices when it comes to bringing value for money. And despite these challenges, you chose to support the volunteer programs associated to the West Vancouver Police Department. For that, we owe you, a debt of gratitude.

Our Hundreds of volunteers have join over 75000 police volunteers across this great country committed to community service all in the spirit of serving and protecting the citizens served by the 103 police and civilian employees of Our Police Department.

As volunteers your collective efforts have enable the Department to deliver on our policing priorities centred around traffic safety, youth engagement, enhancing our police visibility, fighting the war on drugs and other crime, and enhancing our communications by helping us deliver our message.

I often get the opportunity to stand on my soap box to brag about our successes in living up to these policing priorities. I do so knowing that our paid staff at the West Vancouver Police Department is intertwined with a team of volunteer and community partners so solid, the bond that we create mimic the characteristics of a very close family.

Although I am most grateful to each and every volunteer that work with us every day of the year, I would beg your forgiveness if you would allow me to pay a special tribute this year to my Victim Services Team. When you volunteer with this team, it is a rare occasion that you get to spend time with a smiling face.

Your clients are often filled with grief, filled with sorrow, filled with fear. And when they look to the police for comfort and reassurance, I see you pushing the brave police officer aside so that you can wrap your arms around these victims while we get to go about our business. And then you come and check on us to see if we are doing OK too. In many instances, we also become your clients.

If the West Vancouver Police Department could be described within the context of human body, I would say that our Victim Services Program and its Volunteers are its soul.

If this event tonight were to have occurred in February 2010, and this night was an Olympic Medals presentation night, I would wrap a gold medal around your neck and place you on a very high podium and display you all for the world to see. Because in this police chief’s heart, you are the best in the world and second to no other.

To all of our volunteers, on behalf of the entire executive management team at the West Vancouver Police Department, we want to say thank you. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your dedication to community. Thank you for the support that you provide to the rest of my team.

Our community is so much safer because of what you give to us. Our spirit as a community is so much stronger because of the influence that you bring to it. And the West Vancouver Police Department is so much better because you are willing to wear a jacket that labels you as one of our volunteers, to carry a card that says you are our volunteer, or choose to grace the halls of our building even though you could be spending your precious time with another organization..

We are happy to reserve this night so that we can celebrate your efforts and accomplishments, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening.

Chief Constable Peter Lepine

West Vancouver Police Department