The Collaborative Centre for Justice and Safety
An initiative of the University of Regina Office Of The Vice-President (Research)

About the Centre

The Collaborative Centre for Justice and Safety was created to meet numerous challenges and issues facing the first responders and public safety sector in Canada and around the world:

  • Operating within tight budget constraints.
  • Concerns voiced by Aboriginal communities, both on and off of reserves, regarding policing.
  • Addressing the health and well-being issues facing individuals serving in the industry.
  • A need for state-of-the-art research and technology in the areas of
    • fighting cybercrime,
    • creating new surveillance systems, and
    • improving the communications systems in Canada.
  • A need to disseminate current research, best practices and other key resources to individuals making decisions.
  • A need for accredited education and training programs to allow career mobility opportunities.

Overall, Canada needs an independent, third party organization that is responsible for researching, developing and testing tools and programs that will help first responders and other public safety organizations tackle health and well-being, cybercrime, communications and surveillance issues across the country. This organization will also be responsible for disseminating research and information to public safety and first responders personnel to ensure its widespread use in Canada and, potentially, around the world.

A Saskatchewan-based Centre enables research and administrative staff to work collaboratively with existing provincial and federal institutions including the RCMP, Saskatchewan Police College, DRDC-CSS’s Emergency Responder Test and Evaluation Establishment, University of Regina, Innovation Place, and 13 health regions, as well as several other municipal, provincial and federal government agencies located within the province to develop leading-edge research, education programs and technologies that create a better-trained and equipped Canadian public safety and first responders workforce.

The Centre is located in Regina because it is home to the highest concentration of major local, regional and national policing agencies and educational institutions in Saskatchewan, including the University of Regina’s Department of Justice Studies and the RCMP Depot Division, which have already agreed to play key roles in the Centre. The Centre is located at the University of Regina so it can act independently on research, education, training and development projects that further national and international first responders and public safety sector issues.