c/o 202 - 190 Alexander Street, Vancouver, BC CANADA V6A 1B5
T: 604.685.6486 F: 604.685.5228 bcpa@bc-pa.ca www.bc-pa.ca
British Columbia Police Association (BCPA) launched in Vancouver
Vancouver, September 25, 2008 - Starting today, a new province-wide organization will provide a united voice for front-line municipal policing in British Columbia.
The 2,500-member British Columbia Police Association (BCPA) is being launched today in Vancouver. It is made up the members of the province's 11 municipal police services as well as members of the South Coast BC Transit Association Police Services.
Members of the RCMP serving in B.C. will be welcome as non-voting associate members of the BCPA during the time they serve in the province.
"We will provide a united voice on issues of concern to our members across the province," says Tom Stamatakis, President of the Vancouver Police Union (VPU), who was named as the first President of the BCPA.
While member police associations of the BCPA will continue to negotiate their contracts individually with the municipalities they serve, the BCPA will allow them to more easily share information and improve bargaining positions.
"Our province is vast, and while policing in a major city like Vancouver is different in some ways than in a smaller municipality, our shared experiences, concerns and issues outweigh our differences", notes Stamatakis, who will retain his position as President of the VPU while assuming leadership of the BCPA.
The main aim of the BCPA is to encourage improvements in the working conditions, equipment, training and compensation of its members, and, by so doing, improve policing service to the public in B.C.'s municipalities. Its motto and mission statement is, "To Protect Those Who Protect Others."
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Contact: Tom Stamatakis, 604-312-7737