April 1990

vol 2/#7

British Columbia is EARTHQUAKE COUNTRY

Participants discuss their response to the earthquake scenarios.

by Sam Meckbach

When a major earthquake occurs
in BC, it will come as a complete
surprise. Why? The ability to
predict earthquakes does not include the all-important when!
Moreover, the range of variation
in where it might be centred, and
at what magnitude, has made
earthquake planning very difficult indeed.
Solicitor General Russ Fraser
has given the challenge of producing an interim Earthquake
Response Plan for British Columbia to the Provincial Emergency
Program (PEP). On April 18 and
19, over 100 emergency planners

and experts gathered at the Justice Institute to validate the concepts in PEP's draft plan.
The first concept to be verified
by the participants was that members of the public (that's you!)
must be prepared to survive the
first 36 to 72 hours on their own.
It is not physically possible for
municipal, provincial and federal
support to be in place immediately following a catastrophic
earthquake. The more isolated
people are from support, by
damage or by distance, the
greater the need for individuals to
know simple life-saving tech-

niques around the home, office
and school. (PEP Academy has
earthquake preparedness information materials.)
Seminar participants were
selected, by invitation, to represent six areas of BC with different earthquake problems. The
selection process also ensured
that "players" were invited from
the different levels of government
so that a representation of
municipal, provincial and federal
officials could address specific
points of concern within their
areas of responsibility. Parcontinued on next page

Fire Academy • Police Academy • Corrections Academy • Finance and Administration Division
Educational Services Division • Emergency Health Services Academy • Provincial Emergency Program Academy

Earthquake ... continued from page 1
ticipants included 25 municipal,
32 provincial, 25 federal and 21
representatives of other agencies
such as UBC, Vancouver Port Corporation and BC Telephone Company.
During the two-day exercise,
participants were divided into six
"syndicates." To the extent possible, each syndicate was made
up of people actually responsible
within their area of BC for carrying out the planning tasks required by the exercises. The
syndicates received preliminary
instructions and were given four
problems representing six
geographical areas, each with
separate earthquakes of different
magnitudes. Using a combination of gaming and table top discussion exercises, the syndicates
considered the problems
presented by their earthquake
scenario.
Each of the six syndicates then
presented its solutions to the
problems in plenary session. This
session also addressed the validation of the concepts within the
earthquake plan. Seminar director Tony Heemskerk reminded
participants that this "response"
plan is one of several envisaged
by the planning process. Eventually a "recovery" plan and, more
important, a "preparedness" plan
must evolve.
Mr. Mark Ghilarducci, a special seminar guest from the State

Next
deadline
for
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JI News
•
IS

May
15
2

of California Office of Emergency
Services, gave a presentation on
the California Multi-Agency Disaster Response Team and its
progress in producing an effective
urban search and heavy rescue organization. The interim BC plan
parallels the work of the state of
California in its concepts for
urban search and heavy rescue.
Mr. Ghilarducci commented, "In
some areas, California is ahead of
BC in its planning for such a
catastrophic event, but in some
ways BC is leading the way. In
particular, I must comment that
the concept of the Justice Institute, with all of the first
responder training conducted
from one institute, especially with
the Provincial Emergency Program, is indeed a step in the right
direction. I have a cumbersome
process in making the California
Multi-Agency Disaster Response
Team as effective as it would be if
such an institute were available
in California."
Every seminar has.bonus fea-

tures, and so did this Crisis
Management Seminar. Most participants found themselves dealing with provincial, federal and
municipal counterparts whom
they would meet in a time of
crisis. They had a further opportunity to discuss common interests and concerns at a social
event at which Solicitor General
Russ Fraser was the guest
speaker. Mr. Fraser emphasized
the co-operation needed to continue the planning process, and
the actual response if an
earthquake should occur. He further emphasized the importance
of continued support of the Provincial Emergency Program and the
ongoing deliberations to an effective BC Earthquake Response
Plan.
PEP Director Tony Heemskerk
thanked the PEP Academy, and
in particular Ross Mcintyre,
Linda West and George
Makowski for their support.
Sam Meckbach is Director of
PEP Academy. D

•••SPOTLIGHT•••
On Staff
Changes...
Educational Services
Division has been the scene of
several changes over the past
few weeks. Tricia Kobayashi
has resigned as Program
Secretary for Extension
Programs effective May 12 to accept a position with the BC International Commercial
Arbitration Centre. Gail
Makowsky is on emergency
leave to await the birth of her
child, due in early June. While
Gail's away Sarah Ross has
been hired on an interim basis .
Sarah is the former Ed Services
Divisional Secretary. She has
just completed a Bachelor's degree in French linguistics and
literature at SFU and will

return to university in the fall
to work on her Master's.
Steven Everett from Horizon
College has just completed a
three-week work experience
practicum in the library.
Darilynn Ruben has been
hired on a part time, six month
contract, to assist with casino
volunteer training workshops.
And, finally, for those who
thought we had said farewell to
Tad Dick: your vision probably is not failing. Tad has been
brought back to assist in the
casino training for volunteers
in non-profit agencies.
Emergency Health Services
Academy has two new staff
members. Ann Grant is jobsharing an OA2 word processing position with Jeanne
Karim, and Kathryn Reid has
been hired to fill a part time OA
2 position. 0
The JI News Vol 21#7

JI Graduations
Corrections Academy
graduates SOth
probation officer class
On April 30, Corrections
Academy graduated the 50th
class of probation officer recruits.
Adding to the significance of the
event was the fact that, with 25
students, this was also the
largest graduating class. Probation officer training is 17 weeks
long and includes field practicums of five weeks. With an
average of only two courses a
year, the 50th class is truly something to celebrate.
Sharing the celebration with
the students, corrections instructors and administrative support
staff, were JI President, Larry
Goble, Corrections Academy
Director John Laverock, and special guest speaker Jim Graham,
Assistant Deputy Minister,
Solicitor General.

Police recruit class #43
graduates after 32 weeks
of training
On April 20, 1990 at precisely
2:05 p.m., 30 police recruits from
Class 43 marched onto the gymnasium floor to receive certificates of qualification from the
Police Academy Director, and

Corrections Academy graduates

badges of appointment from their
respective police chiefs. This was
the completion of 32 weeks of
training for the class. They will
report to seven BC departments,
bringing with them a crosssection of cultures and expertise
representing many ethnic groups.
The graduation was highlighted with the attendance of
Mr. Dennis Murray, Q.C., Deputy
Solicitor General of BC who gave
an excellent keynote address to
the graduating class. Mr. Val
Patte, Assistant Deputy Minister
in charge of Police Services, along
with many chief constables, members of the BC Police Commission
and Justice Institute board, were
also in attendance. The Vancouver Police Pipe Band and the
15th field Artillery Brass Band

EHS Academy graduates

The JI News Vol 21#7

gave an added touch to the
graduation. Approximately 400
guests, friends and family members attended the graduation.

Most outstanding student, Andy Brownlow

EHS Academy graduates
students from new program
In the last two weeks of March
and the last week of April, 1990,
the pilot EMA II Open Learning
Program graduated its first group
of students. Graduates included
a total of 60 students from across
the province, including the Penticton, Prince George, Courtenay,
Cranbrook and Vancouver areas.
A top student was selected for
each group based on leadership
ability and performance in the
class and the community. The
top students were: Andy Brownlow, Prince George; Mike Aubie,
Penticton; Debbie Bidder, Cranbrook; Mike Brown, Courtenay;
and Jamie Sager, Vancouver.
The winner of the Most Outstanding Student Award, Andy
Brownlow, was selected from
among the five top students. 0
3

Simulations

by Jackie Goodwin and Jim Bond, Fire Academy

Experiential learning, we all
know, provides the best chance to
master any material. We all talk
about learning on the job. But in
certain high risk occupations
learning on the job can be
dangerous and even life threatening. How do police, fire fighters
and ambulance personnel learn
to function in their jobs in a classroom or distance education environment? And how can courts,
corrections staff, and other professionals, best practice their.
response to angry clients or
sharpen their interpersonal and
crisis intervention skills?
The answer, of course, is
simulations -- contrived situations designed to approximate
the conditions that exist in the
real world.
Simulations take many forms,
from an extended role play exercise that evolves much like a
board game, to staged scenarios
with actors, moulage (makeup)
and sound and visual effects.
While some people claim that
simulations are only an approximation ofreality and are not
a true test of ability, simulations
are the best way to prepare both
4

recruits and experienced personnel to deal with field situations.
The artificiality of the simulation
is both its strongest and weakest
point. It gives the instructor control over those areas that are unpredictable in the field. If a
simulation heads into dangerous
territory because a student
makes an inappropriate choice,
the instructor has the ability to
halt the scenario before the
recruit's safety is endangered.
This is an advantage that can
never exist in the field. The
scenario gives the instructor the
chance to let the situation
develop the way it would naturally, but with control over key elements.
This scenario may be the last
chance that a student has in a
controlled environment before
working on the job. In emergency response, for example, the student must know the job before
having to perform it; there is no
room for error when the actual
job is being performed. Practice
obtained during simulations
provides experience and a chance
to develop conditioned skills -- an
unconscious competence. We all

learn by doing. It is important to
know how to do a job, to be able
to define the skills and describe
their application, but simulations
allow the application of skills.
Simulations emphasize not
how much a student knows,
which is tested with standard
written exams and oral tests, but
how well a student copes, which
can only be tested in a hands-on
situation. Simulations emphasize process. This means that
although the conclusion of the
simulation may achieve the
desired result, the process, complete with its false starts, mistakes, communication
breakdowns and mishaps that
take place along the way, becomes part of the learning
process and the evaluation.
Reference: Simulations: a
handbook for teachers and
trainers, by Ken Jones. 112 pp,
New York, Nichols Publishing
Company, 1987.

Fire Academy
Fire Academy scenarios have
caught the attention of Justice Institute staff and students as well
The JI News Vol 21#7

as the media. If your office overlooks the parking lot you cannot
miss the airplane crashes,
propane fire, smoke bombs and
motor vehicle accidents that the
Fire Academy produces. Fire
Academy simulations have been
shown on BCTV and CBC.
The Academy successfully involves the active participation of
members of the police community
and the ambulance service of BC
as well as BC Hydro and other
services as they are needed. By
combining the services,
we are able to focus on
critical interrelationships between services
during moments of high
stress.
Student evaluation is
a major aspect of all
learning activities. To
accomplish this, Fire
Academy uses behavioural checklists
that are scenario
specific and that define
the expected actions
from fire officer candidates. Instructor to
student ratio is high, and instructors are able to evaluate student
performance and then meet with
the students and debriefthem on
the incident. One of the features
of the simulations is the non-intrusive role of the instructors.
They serve as safety officers, but
unless a scenario is heading in a
physically dangerous direction
the instructors remain neutral to
the progress of the scenario.
Participants in all of the
simulations have functional roles.
In the Company Officer course,
the one that is run most often,
each student acts in the role of
Company Officer in two
scenarios. The other students
function as crew members. Other
courses are structured similarly.
Simulations can be stressful
events for students but course
evaluations all show that the students learn a lot while they are
here and they enjoy themselves
while doing it.

Corrections Academy
Simulations and role plays are
The .JI News Vol 21#7

used throughout the correctional
officer recruit training program
in the interpersonal communications skills, conflict resolution
and crisis intervention skills sections of the program. Corrections
Academy has found role playing
to be a useful way for trainees to
practice new skills; it is not as effective in assessing skills.
Trainees have reported that they
feel that having an unknown person (actor) play the role of an inmate or youth is realistic and

and concepts through role plays
of conflict situations. Each group
of five students has a trained
coach to facilitate the learning,
maintain a positive tone, and provide video feedback. Students
are encouraged to record their
progress through the 210-hour
program using their own video
tapes to review at home. Although many students are initially unenthusiastic about role play,
they invariably remark that these
sessions provide their most positive and valuable
learning~

challenging because, in many
situations, officers have to ·deal
with new inmates about whom
they have very little information.
The other benefit is that the exercises are taken more seriously
than if classmates played the inmate role.
Trainees often perceive the interpersonal skills they practice in
simulations as the "soft side" of
correctional work, and they tend
not to take the use of these skills
as an essential way of managing
inmates. Instead, trainees frequently feel that they should be
able to command respect and
obedience from the inmates solely
because of their status as officers.
The use of simulations teaches
them that they can have better
overall control through interpersonal skills than with the "hammer."

Extension Programs
In Extension Programs, Conflict Resolution Certificate Program courses use simulations
extensively. Each course stresses
the practical application of theory

In order to qualify
for the certificate, students are required to
demonstrate competency in both mediation and negotiation
skills. One-hour
simulations are videotaped, with actors
playing the roles of
the disputants. Students then use a
detailed assessment
guide to assess their
own videos. If they
feel they have demonstrated at
least a minimum level of competency, they submit their tape to
the Program Co-ordinator, along
with their written self-assessment. If their opinion differs significantly from the
Co-ordinator's, a conference is set
to review the tape and determine
the basis for this difference.

Police Academy
Police Academy frequently conducts simulation training exercises in and around the JI.
Simulations are a series of actual
calls for police service that are
staged and re-enacted as constructive training exercises for police
recruits. The authenticity of the
simulation exercises is enhanced
by the use of professional actors
cast as victims, suspects, bystanders and as people in conflict with
the law. When the police recruits
respond to the simulation call,
the actors are free to perform
their parts in any manner they
wish. Experience has shown that
continued on next page

5

Simulations ... continued from page S
the individual actor's response
will vary with each attending set
of police recruits. This flexibility
adds a realistic and convincing
element to the simulation.
The variety of simulations
used during the four-day program test the police recruits'
ability to work on the street. The
simulations can be relatively
straightforward, or they can be
more difficult to work through.
Some of the simulations require
physical control of the actors,
while others are emotionally challenging. Examples of the simulated calls the recruits respond to
include: break and enter complaint, industrial accident, domestic dispute, motor vehicle
accident, armed robbery, hostage
incident, suicidal person, violent
drunk person, death notification.
The actors understand the
need for authentic or realistic
responses to their respective
roles. Therefore, actors have had
occasion to become verbally and
physically aggressive toward the
police recruits during the simulation. It should be noted that
there is very little possibility of
injuries to anyone involved in the
scenarios. The police recruit's
sidearms are unloaded and all

weapons used by the actors are
decommissioned or are fake, such
as rubber knives.
All aspects of these simulations are authentic in every
detail. The recruits receive calls
from a dispatcher over police
radio, with briefinformation and
the location of the call. The actors perform exactly as people do
out "on the street." The recruits
must conclude their case by
documenting their actions on official police report forms, in detail.
During the simulation, the
recruits are assessed by a
trained, experienced police
evaluator. Some evaluators are
regular police academy instructors, and some are members of
police departments actively working the beat. When the simulation has concluded, the recruits,
actors and evaluators participate
in a debriefing session. During
this time, positive and negative
comments are brought forward to
the recruits. Here, the
philosophy is simple: "Learn
from your mistakes here at the JI
instead of out on the street."

Court Services
Court Services Programs holds

In pursuit of public safety
Congratulations are due to Gary
Payne and Curt Hunter who coproduced our new ten-minute
orientation video entitled In Pursuit of Public Safety.
This live action video answers
the question, "What is the Justice
Institute?" It shows fire fighters
training in the community, police
officers working toward their
graduation day, corrections officers using high tech video aids to
learn new skills, paramedics
answering an emergency call,
Provincial Emergency Program
volunteers preparing for a search
and rescue exercise, and Extension Programs providing people
with skills related to child sexual
6

abuse and conflict resolution.
The message is clear -- the Justice Institute is an education and
training institution that trains
very important people. People
who are committed to protecting
and saving the lives of all people
in this province.
The oft quoted saying that "justice must not only be done but be
seen to be done," is also true for
the Justice Institute. Even
though we have done outstanding
work over the past 12 years it is
not enough unless more people are
aware of our efforts. Our new
video is another key resource
which we plan to spread the message. 0

simulations for students in the
Deputy Sheriff training program,
which consists of 20 days of
development for new deputy
sheriffs. The simulations are
used to strengthen the skills
learned in the course, such as
legal aspects training and conflict
management. Actors are hired to
play the parts of people who may
create challenging situations for
deputy sheriffs.
Trained and experienced
deputy sheriffs from the field act
as evaluators and assess the performance of the new trainees and
offer their constructive feedback.
Trainees have consistently
reported that they feel simulations help prepare them for onthe-job experience.

EmergencY- Health Services
Academy (EHSA)
EHSA has used simulations in
its training since 1983. Following a review of research into the
use of simulations and other
teaching methods, EHSA chose
simulations as the primary
means of testing in re-certification programs. In recruit
programs, EHSA uses simulations as part of formative evaluation procedures.
Both programs use actors to
simulate real-life emergencies
and, as much as possible, the
Academy includes a wide agerange of actors to better represent the varying ages of people
involved in the emergencies they
attend.
EHSA instructors evaluate the
recruits' responses; the licensing
branch of the BC Ambulance Service evaluates participants in recertification programs.
Last summer, EHSA surveyed
participants in both programs to
gauge their response to the use of
simulation exercises. Their findings showed that participants
were evenly split between those
who "liked" and those who "disliked" simulations. Those who
"disliked" the use of simulations
stated a preference for attending
an actual ambulance call. 0
The JI News Vo/21#7

Extension Programs research
project receives funding

Trainer Susan Swanson demonstrates
the correct use of anatomically correct
dolls in the Let's Talk About
Touching program.

Extension Programs has just
been informed that Health and
Welfare Canada, Social Services
Division, has approved a grant in
the amount of $26, 765 to fund the
design and pre-test of an evaluation of the Let's Talk About Touching sexual abuse prevention
program designed for pre-school
children. The pre-test is the first
component of an overall research
project that has been submitted
for funding from the federal Child
Care Initiatives fund. If the complete proposal is approved, the
Justice Institute will be the first
organization in Canada to
evaluate a pre-school child sexual
abuse prevention program.
Extension Programs began
delivering pre-school prevention
programs to parents and children
in 1985. During this period, a
The JI News Vol 21#7

two-hour public education program was developed and offered
to children in pre-schools and
daycares around the province. In
1986, the Ministry of Attorney
General contracted with one of
the trainers used by the Justice
Institute to design and develop a
nine module, scripted curriculum
that could be delivered by early
childhood educators in their classrooms. An essential component of
this program was the training of
pre-school teachers and daycare
supervisors. The Ministry of Attorney General asked Extension
Programs to develop this training
program, and since the fall of
1987 we have been responsible for
the administration of the program.
'
Extension Programs has
received funding from the Ministries of Solicitor General and
Health and the Vancouver Foundation to subsidize the training
workshops, and over 650 preschool and daycare personnel
have attended the workshops. In
addition to delivering the training, Extension Programs has
been involved in the distribution
of the training kits and teaching
dolls.
The Let's Talk About Touching
pre-school program is the first of
its kind in Canada, and in 1988
Extension Programs approached
the federal government regarding
the possibility of funding the
development of national training.
The federal government was
reluctant to fund a national program without first having an opportunity to evaluate its impact
on reducing the risk of sexual assault for young children.
The approval offunding for the
research design is a positive step
in the direction of national training. The successful outcome of
the research may give Extension
Programs the opportunity to
introduce the program across
Canada. 0

JI awards new
computer
support contract

The Justice Institute has recently
contracted with M/C Software Support Inc. for ongoing hardware
and software computer support for
all Institute computer users. A
number of staff in each Academy
and Division have been identified
as "authorized users" and all requests for computer support will
be directed through these representatives.
The service includes both
telephone support for problem
diagnosis and response, and onsite service as required. For the
first few weeks of the contract an
MJC representative will be at the
Justice Institute one day a week
to handle problems and respond to
requests. Kirby Mah will be the
on-site representative, although
different M/C Software staff will
become involved based on their
specialized expertise. Kirby will
be at the JI on Wednesdays.
MJC President, Keith Mah, has
provided computer services to
most academies over the years
and is familiar to many JI staff.
Keith's intention is to train JI
staff in problem-solving and
trouble-shooting so that we do not
become too dependent on his staff.
He will also assist us in learning
from each other's problems and
solutions through regular
documentation of all service requests. Keith will meet regularly
with the Information Systems
Group to provide advice, training
and technical support. 0
7

The Justice Institute
of B.C. is dedicated
to improving the
quality of justice
and public safety
by developing
and delivering
training programs
and offering
educational services
to professionals
and the public.

Fire Academy to deliver
training for· native groups
Fire Academy has recently
signed a major contract with the
British Columbia office of Indian
and Northern Affairs Canada
(INAC) to deliver a total of 81
training programs for native
groups throughout the province
over the next year. Programs
will include volunteer certification, basic programs in the field,
safety systems for inspectors,
band fire safety code, school
programs dealing with fire safety,
the Workplace Hazardous
Materials Information System

(WHMIS), and response
to emergencies in public buildings.
To deliver this training, Fire
Academy will require one additional full time support person,
two full time and two part time
Instructors. The Academy advertised these positions and has
received resumes for the
instructors' positions from as far
away as Ontario. Eleanor Jeffrey
has been hired and is presently
working in the support staff position. 0

Photo enlargements show
the JI in action
Have you noticed the new groupings of photo enlargements now located on several walls throughout the JI buildings? This is the
start of a plan to
build visual displays
showing the "JI in
action." Pat Ross,
Dean of Educational
Services Division,
organized the
project and over the
next year will make
continued efforts to
add to the collections. As well, the
library has agreed
to begin an "archive" project to
catalogue and store
the original prints
and negatives so
that we can access
them as we need examples of our activities for reports,
publications and
promotional
materials. 0
Photo: Tony Williams

8

The JI News Vol 21#7