Justice and Public Safety
September 12, 2016

Building Partnerships in Justice

Collaboration Builds Training Opportunities for Correctional Officer Recruits

A collaborative effort between the Department of Justice and Public Safety and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) will see training of recruits under the Correctional Officer Recruit Training (CORT) program take place at the RNC Memorial Campus in St. John's. The Honourable Andrew Parsons, Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General, joined RNC Chief Bill Janes and Superintendent of Prisons, Owen Brophy, to welcome the new recruits who are beginning their training today.

"Fostering partnerships across all aspects of our justice system ultimately brings with it new opportunities to improve services and build programming. This partnership with the RNC to have our correctional officers trained in the same facility as RNC recruits allows for greater interaction between the two, and represents ongoing work toward increased joint training for uniformed services in the justice system."
- The Honourable Andrew Parsons, Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General

Correctional officers work at five correctional facilities throughout the province and two detention centres located in Corner Brook and St. John's. There are 30 recruits beginning the 15 week CORT program today.

"We are pleased to share our newly opened training centre with a key justice and public safety partner. Training at the RNC Memorial Campus will allow our public safety partners in the Correctional Officer Recruit Training (CORT) Cadets to access the state of the art facilities and tools at this campus during their program."
- Chief Bill Janes, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary

Upon successful completion of the CORT program, the 30 correctional officer recruits will be eligible for employment in January 2017.

QUICK FACTS

• Minister Parsons participated today in the launch of a new collaboration with the RNC for the Correctional Officer Recruit Training (CORT) program.
• Individuals enrolled in the Correctional Officer Recruit Training (CORT) program will now receive their training at the RNC Memorial Campus.
• The 15-week training program begins today for 30 recruits who will now have access to the state of the art RNC Memorial Campus facility during their program.

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Media contacts:

Jacquelyn Howard Director of Communications Department of Justice and Public Safety 709-729-6985, 689-2624 jacquelynhoward@gov.nl.ca

Cst. Geoffrey Higdon, #819 Media Relations Officer / Social Media Officer Royal Newfoundland Constabulary 1 Fort Townshend, St. John's, NL, A1C 2G2 709-729-8658

2016 09 12                              10:55 a.m.