The BC Crime Stoppers Training Conference in Kelowna took place May 12–14 and featured a strong line-up of speakers and presenters.
Saturday’s key note addressed ‘Media and
Crime: Beyond Borders and Barriers’ presented by
Christopher J. Schneider, Assistant
Professor in Sociology in The Barber School of Arts
and Sciences at the University of British Columbia.
“Dr Schneider has received
awards for both his teaching
and scholarly research.”Social media have led to the emergence of new
forms of crime. While much confusion continues to
exist about how exactly to definitively understand
and navigate social media, these media nevertheless
remain very widely used and discussed. Examining
how these media have contributed to recent
social changes remains an important endeavour.
This talk will highlight and address some of thesechanges, including understanding social media
generally, and more specifically in relation to crime,
deviance and social control.
Dr Schneider has received awards for both his teaching
and scholarly research. He has appeared in over
90 print, radio and television interviews, some of
these featured nationally across Canada. Dr Scneider
also appears as a frequent commentator on CBC
British Columbia, CKNW Vancouver, Newstalk 980
and AM 1150, News, Talk, Sports for the Okanagan.-------------------------------------------------------
Katy Hutchison was Friday’s key note speaker
whose story became national news when it happened. On
New Year’s Eve 1997 in Squamish, British Columbia,
Bob McIntosh—the charismatic captain of the Canadian
triathlon team, Katy’s then-husband and thefather of five-year-old twins—went down his street
at about 10:30 PM to investigate a drunken teen-age
party. He didn’t come back. The autopsy showed
that he died from a kick to the head, which severed
a major artery.
Katy Hutchison is now a concerned parent, author
and restorative justice advocate with a compelling,
real life story to share.“Katy Hutchison is now a
concerned parent, author and
restorative justice advocate with
a compelling, real life story to
share.”After Bob’s murder, Katy waited for five years while
the police worked tirelessly to obtain the evidence
to prosecute and convict his killers. During that period,
Katy developed her perception of the societal
forces and lack of understanding amongst young
people that created the circumstances leading to
Bob’s death. She grew to recognize the need to advise
and educate young members of the community
about the risks that arise with the combination of
young people, alcohol and a lack of supervision.
Her book, entitled ‘Walking After Midnight: One
Woman’s Journey Through Murder, Justice and Forgiveness’
is published in Canada by Raincoast Books
and in the US by new Harbinger Publications.
In 2010 Katy’s powerful story inspired Lifetime Network’s
movie ‘Bond of Silence’.