Police officers from across North America gather for Street Survival seminar at Mohawk College

Police officers from as far away as Nigeria visited Mohawk College’s Brantford Campus this week for a two-day seminar focused on helping officers cope with job-related stress.

Street Survival 2011 is the first seminar of its kind to be held at Mohawk College, says Public Safety and Security Professor Peter St. Denis. A former Peel Region police officer, Peter says the Street Survival training is aimed at inoculating the officers against stress. Officers learn how to cope with worst-case scenarios including violent confrontations, personal injury or the loss of friends and colleagues on the job, he says. Some even brought their spouses to the seminar so they can better understand what goes through an officer’s mind when the unthinkable happens.

About 50 police officers from across North America, and some from as far away as the West-African country of Nigeria, made the trip to Brantford for the seminar. About 20 students from Mohawk’s Advanced Police Studies program also got to take part.

Taylor Scrimshaw plans to make a career in policing after he graduates from Mohawk next year. For Taylor, the Street Survival seminar was a window into an aspect of the profession that students don’t often think of when they choose a career in policing.

“You don’t realize how important communication is,” he says. “Just speaking with other officers can make a difference in how you deal with a situation.”

The seminar was taught by Dave Smith, an internationally renowned speaker, trainer and author with Calibre Press, a world leader in police training. Dave teaches police officers all over the United States, and says the equipment and faculty at Mohawk rival some of the best police training centres in the U.S.

“I’m impressed with the technology here, and the team of faculty is just phenomenal,” he says. “Everybody I’ve spoken to is an expert in their field.”

Mohawk College offers a number of programs in Justice and Wellness studies. Visit the College's Community and Urban Studies webpage for more information.