Bajwa
is the first to wear the turban in Ottawa Police
In many ways, Const. Jasdeep Bajwa is just like any
other rookie police officer. Eager to learn and excited
about his job, the 25-year old Bajwa, hired last August,
is the ideal candidate for the Ottawa Police Service.
It was my dream ever since I was a child,
he says of wanting to be a cop. Thats what
I had always wanted to be. While Bajwas
enthusiasm may not set him apart from his colleagues,
his uniform certainly does. Bajwa wears a turban, one
of five items Sikhs wear following their baptism. There
are other Sikhs on the Ottawa police force, but Bajwa
is the first to wear the turban as part of his uniform.
As precedent setting as it is for this city, Bajwa
is not the first turban-wearing police officer in province
or the country. In fact, local police modeled Bajwas
blue turban after styles worn by Toronto and Peel officers.
In 1991, Baltej Singh Dhillon became the first officer
to wear a turban in the RCMP. While Dhillon was initially
at the centre of controversy over his head wear, Bajwa
has yet to encounter a negative comment on the beat.
Instead, he has fielded a handful of curious questions
from civilians about the turban and its significance.
India to Kanata
Even in his native India, Bajwa grew up wanting to
be a cop. When his family moved to Kanata four years
ago, he took a few years to master English and grow
accustom to his new country before following his dream.
When he applied to the Ottawa police, Bajwa didnt
stop to wonder whether he would make waves because of
what he wore. He points out that out of 20 people hired
at the same time as him, six were women, two were black
and one was Asian.
During the past few years, Ottawa police have been
actively trying to recruit visible minorities. Staff
Sgt. Syd Gravel, who manages the Ottawa police outreach
recruitment project, says that to effectively serve
a culturally diverse community such as Ottawa, the police
force has to reflect that public.
Bajwa is a prime example of how policing is branching
out. The Ottawa police service recognizes that some
changes such as alterations to uniforms
must be made to accommodate officers of diverse backgrounds,
say Gravel. He adds that when the force hires people
from various cultural backgrounds, it keeps in mind
they will bring a different way of doing things, which
can benefit the force.
There are different ways of doing things
that
are just as effective as others and may be even more
effective if you understand the culture better,
says Gravel.
Reporter: laura.czekaj@ott.sunpub.com
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