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Let's Talk

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Let's Talk

VOL. 30, NO. 1

Speakers’ Bureau
Touching Hearts as Well as Minds

BY Bill Rankin, Communications Officer, Communications and Citizen Engagement Sector

Photo: Bill Rankin

In the foreground, left to right: Loyalist College Instructor John Klassen, Dr. Bruce Malcolm; and students.
In the foreground, left to right: Loyalist College Instructor John Klassen, Dr. Bruce Malcolm; and students.

Since the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) launched its Speakers’ Bureau last year, the project has earned two thumbs up from audiences across the country. High schools, community groups, Aboriginal band councils, law faculties and various criminal justice partners have found that presenters — from a growing inventory of 323 at last count — are provocative, informative and often passionate about what they do.

These experts make themselves available to talk to groups who typically have a limited understanding but unlimited curiosity about the complex issues related to corrections. Students have proven to be particularly interested in hearing about life on the inside from offenders and CSC staff who work closely with them.

Recently, students from Human Services Management, a new degree program at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario, had the opportunity to hear from a man who has a unique insight into offenders’ minds. Psychologist Bruce Malcolm, Acting Manager of Sex Offender Programs at National Headquarters, gave a two-hour presentation followed by a question and answer period to the enthusiastic group.

Dr. Malcolm is relatively new to National Headquarters, but has been the Regional Coordinator for Sex Offender Programs for the past 10 years, working out of the Intake/Assessment section of Millhaven Institution, outside Kingston, Ontario. He spoke with authority to the fourth-year Loyalist students, fielding questions about the basic organization of CSC, the assessment process, concepts of static and dynamic risk, parole and the correctional plan.

“I found Dr. Malcolm’s presentation to be very in-depth; he covered the area perfectly,” commented one student who plans on a career working in provincial detention centres after graduation. “What he said will even help with my research project.”

“There are a lot of misconceptions out there about corrections,” declared another student. “Bringing information to the public is very important. There are many groups in the community that would really benefit from hearing from the Speakers’ Bureau. I think it would give the public more confidence in the correctional system if they knew more about it.”

Loyalist College Instructor John Klassen was pleased to have a speaker who is both a practitioner and clinician in his field. “As a member of the Rotary Club, I can say without a doubt that club members will want to hear more from the Speakers’ Bureau.”

Continuing success for the Speakers’ Bureau will most likely hinge on two factors: first, the regions’ efforts to promote the Bureau and, second, speakers’ ability to engage and excite audiences about corrections and provide information. Speakers must know their audience and their area of expertise and find ways to touch the heart as well as the mind. ♦

 

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