After my amazing three week trip to Prague and Eastern Europe in April and May of this year, my wanderlust kicked in once again and my travels took me to Vancouver British Columbia in October 2023. I was attending the World Association of Detectives (W.A.D.) 98th annual conference at the Fairmont Waterfront hotel where I was voted in as Board Director. I contacted my IPA USA 2nd VP liaison Carmen Alvelo who once again assisted me with my endeavors. Carmen put me in touch with William Powell IPA USA Region 5 who subsequently reached out to Karen Frost IPA Vancouver Region 9 VP and Bill Ardill IPA Vancouver Region 13 Travel Secretary.
Once again I explained the W.A.D. and IPA Memorandum of Understanding for those who were not aware. W.A.D. was founded in 1925 and currently contains over 1,000 professional investigative members in 84 countries. W.A.D. past president and chairman Dan Rusu, a member of IPA Romania and past IPA President Pierre-Martin Moulin collaboratively signed this MOU in 2019. The main purposes of the MOU are enhancing and sharing knowledge, training, networking, camaraderie and joint membership between both organizations, including retired police officers who are eligible to join W.A.D. One thing I learned after retirement is that private detectives and investigators can play a vital role in assisting our public sector officers as some of the work goes hand in hand.
I met up with retired Police Officer Karen Frost who became not only my tour guide throughout Vancouver but my friend. Karen mentioned to me that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had suffered a tragic loss of Constable Rick O’Brien on Friday September 22 as the ninth police officer killed in the line of duty so far, with two more Mounties injured during that fatal day. It was due to these horrendous circumstances than many other members could not join us or attend our W.A.D. festivities due to preparation for the funeral services on October 4th further outside of Vancouver. Also the manpower of IPA Region 9 is suffering due to retirement and active duty members working very long hours.
Karen and I journeyed across Vancouver through Stanley Park and onto Grouse Mountain for some sightseeing whilst enjoying the unexpectedly beautiful weather. After taking the sky-ride lift way up the 4,000 foot (1200 meter) peak, we saw a highly entertaining Lumberjack show and visited with the resident bears. Afterwards, we returned to downtown Vancouver and visited the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) on Cambie Street. Although Karen said the previous experience in bringing an IPA member to the police department was not successful, this particular visit proved fruitful. Not only did we take photos and exchange patches with the officers outside, we were able to take a tour inside due in part to our new friend Patty. Karen said later on that I was her lucky charm in making a new friend for future IPA visitors to gain access to a tour of VPD.
After our police tour, we went to eat at Craft Beer Market False Creek. Since my gracious host extended the courtesy of providing me with a fantastic tour of Vancouver, dinner was my treat.
That was the conclusion of my Vancouver day tour and I was taken back to my hotel.
A few days later, I met up with Karen once again with some other IPA and W.A.D. members for a planned dinner at Tap & Barrel by the Vancouver Waterfront Convention Centre. Karen met me at the Lion’s Pub for happy hour with some W.A.D. colleagues. Afterwards, we headed to dinner and were joined by my W.A.D. colleagues who are also IPA members: Alex Auslander from Israel, my former NYPD detective partner from NYC Juan Leonbravo, and newest IPA Chicago member Detective Michael Basile. IPA Vancouver Region 9 members who joined us besides Karen were RCMP Constable Alex Zaganas and retired Police Officer Jan Fikkert. We exchanged patches and stories of our different police departments and how policing can work together across nations. Some members joined us on a pub crawl after dinner down the waterfront to Mahony’s Tavern to meet with other W.A.D. members. In the end, we came to the realization that policies in policing are quite different based on geographical location as well as cultural diversity, but we can all learn from one another as we all bleed blue.
On a final note, staying active in the International Police Association is vital to the future success as member retention becomes a grave concern. Many regions need assistance with obtaining new qualified members, so make sure you lend a helping hand and reciprocate to fellow IPA world travelers. Onward and upward until my next adventure, Servo per Amikeco and stay safe, watch your six and take care of one another. Have a happy holiday and a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.
Fraternally yours,
Jason Cohen
NYPD Detective (Ret)., Licensed Private Investigator
Owner of Allegiance Investigative Solutions LLC
IPA-USA New York City Region 2
W.A.D. Board Director, Chairman of New Business Committee