Justice Education Society of British Columbia

Summer 2011 Newsletter

Cal Deedman Receives Award

On June 9, Cal Deedman, a Senior Crown Prosecutor, was honoured by colleagues as the recipient of the Heads of Prosecution Award for Courage and Perseverance. The award recognizes Deedman’s contributions, in collaboration with the Justice Education Society (JES), in the development and training of police and prosecutors in Central America. He has been working with JES since 2000 and is the Lead Content Expert for the Society’s International Programs.

Above: Cal Deedman with colleagues and Rick Craig, Executive Director of JES

Guaranteeing Human Rights by Building Effective Justice Systems

JES is now at the end of its second year of the Canadian International Development Agency-funded initiative on building effective justice systems in Central America and Ethiopia. With the aim to alleviate serious violent crime in Central America and gender violence in Ethiopia, the initiative uses a systemic approach by offering training to all justice system personnel including police, prosecutors, judges and crime scene technical experts. Each country in which JES operates is currently at a different phase of the project. The following highlights activities in the regions.

Central America
In March, prosecutors and judges gathered to develop an Oral Trial Training (OTT) course for use in Guatemala. The course was delivered in May.

The participating judges and prosecutors all realized this was a critical course at a critical time.  New investigative techniques and procedural reforms, many based on earlier JES projects, were coming to fruition and formed the backbone of the curriculum.
-Trevor Shaw, Crown Counsel, Ministry of Attorney General, British Columbia, and OTT Course Coordinator

Ethiopia
In February, JES completed a needs assessment on the role of the prosecution in crime scene examination and major case management. The first Crime Scene Examination training took place from May 23 to June 3. Participants included 20 Ethiopian police and prosecutors.

Left: A police participant in the Crime Scene Examination course learning fingerprint techniques

Right: The Ethiopia team

Quetzaltenango Police & Prosecutors Integrated Pilot Model Diagnostic

In the past two years, JES has worked with a Guatemalan NGO in conjunction with the Public Prosecutor’s Office to develop a case management model in the state of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. The project is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), and its model focuses on training prosecutors, investigators and crime scene specialists in their areas of specialization. After several years of successful project implementation in Central America, JES, the National Civil Police and the District Attorney’s Office of Quetzaltenango collaborated together to provide a diagnostic of criminal proceedings in the region. 

The diagnostic report was presented and subsequently approved by the Presidential Commission for Police Reform and its current Commissioner, Helen Mack. JES is pleased to announce that is has been awarded funding from DFAIT to implement the proposal. Click here for the news release.

Left: The diagnostic trip in Quetzaltenango

Right: A Guatemalan crime scene specialist demonstrates investigation tools

Project Funding Updates

Special Methods of Investigation

JES has now positioned itself as a key player in supporting the Central American justice sector in Special Methods of Investigation, which includes forensic video analysis and wiretap techniques. JES recently developed a two-year proposal to DFAIT's Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program (ACCBP) to continue its work in Central America. The proposal was approved and work on the project began in May 2011.

On June 8, The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs), visited El Salvador and viewed a forensic video analysis demonstration held by JES. The Minister was impressed by the demonstration and expressed future support of the Society's work in the region. After the visit, the Minister announced a $1 million contribution to combat crime and human trafficking in El Salvador. With $841,000 being allocated to JES to improve criminal investigation techniques, the project aims to help the fight against criminal networks in the region.

All recent contributions to the Society's Central American work are part of DFAIT's annual, multi-million dollar ACCBP project. Launched in 2009, the program provides funds to enhance the capacity of government agencies, international organizations and non-government entities working on issues of transnational criminal threats.

Globalization of Crime Conference

JES is organizing a plenary session titled “Criminal Justice Response” at the Globalization of Crime Conference, taking place from August 7-11 in Ottawa. Held by the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy as well as the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Laws, the conference will bring together judges, legal practitioners, senior law enforcement personnel and academics from all over the world to focus on emerging crimes and new approaches to combat crime. JES has confirmed the attendance of three Attorneys General from Central America and the new director of the Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). JES is also setting up meetings with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and DFAIT representatives for the conference delegation.

For further information, please refer to the conference website.

Public Legal Education 

“Justice Through Knowledge”:  Vietnam Documentary
Shot entirely in Vietnam, the film follows a delegation of Canadian and Vietnamese experts as they apply a model for developing public legal education. Viewers are invited into conversations about legal rights and obligations with women, farmers, and local community leaders and learn how public legal education can lead to justice through knowledge. Click here to view or buy the documentary.

“On the Road to Justice”: Mayan Documentary
JES has produced a film titled “On the Road to Justice: An Exchange of Aboriginal and Mayan Justice Tradition,” which documents the journey of a group of Guatemalan Mayans into the Nisga’a, Shuswap, and Tsilhqot’in nations in northern BC and Vancouver. Through dialogues and dances, stories and songs, the group discovers how indigenous communities are reclaiming and restoring their traditional justice practices. The project was sponsored by CIDA’s Indigenous Peoples Partnership Program. Click here to view the documentary.

Canadian Staff Updates 

JES welcomes Francisco Del Castillo as the Society’s Senior International Accountant. Francisco has a wealth of financial experience and JES is very fortunate to have him overseeing the financial management of its International Programs.