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Recap: OACP & Blue Line Expo 2023

May 11, 2023  By Brittani Schroeder



On May 9, Blue Line and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) welcomed over 240 attendees to the OACP & Blue Line Expo at The International Centre in Mississauga, Ont. This is the second year of partnership between Blue Line and the OACP.

Over 70 vendors were present to show off the latest in technology, services and products from the law enforcement, corrections and security industries. This included clothing and boots, virtual reality training systems, law enforcement vehicles, drones, surveillance systems, police pistols, tactical gear, graphics for clothing and vehicles and so much more.

The event was sponsored by Blackberry, CN Police, D& R Electronics, Triton Police Innovations, Seneca, Commissionaires, Axon, DAVTECH, and Trimtag Trading Inc.

On the conference side, visitors attended two sessions and one award ceremony throughout the day.

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Keynote address: The Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario

This year’s special keynote address was delivered by the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario. In his speech, he touched on the moves he and his government have made to ensure more boots are on the ground, serving the people of Ontario. This includes the recent removal of the post-secondary education requirement to become a police officer, and the elimination of basic constable training tuition fees at police college. He also thanked Blue Line and the OACP for the work being done for Canada’s police officers. After his session, the Premier visited every booth on the expo floor and spent several minutes speaking to each exhibitor.

Crisis communications: The golden hour or the golden minutes

The event’s platinum sponsor, Blackberry, offered a presentation that looked at first responder interoperability. Chris Ullah, a retired Police Superintendent from Greater Manchester Police, focused on communicating in major incidents and how response times can be drastically reduced with Blackberry AtHoc. “Why, with all this technology, can we not communicate effectively?” he asked. During those crucial first moments of a crisis, clear efficient communications across all responders are essential. Indeed, it can mean the difference between life and death.

Rookie of the Year award presentation

The annual Blue Line Rookie of the Year award aims to highlight promising new officers who are effectively paving the way for the policing of today and tomorrow, and creating positive waves among their peers, agencies, communities and beyond.

This year’s winner was announced in March, and the award was presented at OACP & Blue Line Expo. Cst. Anik Dennie of the Greater Sudbury Police Service came up to the stage to accept her award and give a moving speech.

We extend our congratulations once again to Cst. Anik Dennie of the Greater Sudbury Police Service.

Photos

Check out our gallery below to see some pictures from this year’s event!


Editor’s note: A special thank you to all our attendees, sponsors, exhibitors and presenters at this year’s conference and expo. Remember to check out the hashtag #OACPBLExpo for more photos of the event. We can’t wait to see you again in 2024!


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