Constable Lance Waddell inspires young man to take up policing, YIPI graduates become uniformed Toronto Police members
June 28, 2023
While Tanzania’s dense forests are beautiful and filled with a plethora of wildlife, Rashid Mbarouk quickly found out after migrating to Canada that the local version of jungle life is treacherous and sometimes deadly.
As a newcomer in Lawrence Heights, he was subjected to the challenges that residents face in community housing in priority neighbourhoods like the ‘Jungle’ where his family settled after migrating from East Africa in 2004.
Mbarouk lost friends and a neighbour to gun violence that has ravaged the community over the years.
Despite the turmoil around him, his career goal didn’t shift.
When the guidance counsellor at Sir Stanford Fleming Academy inquired about the then Grade 10 student career aspirations, the response was ‘police officer’.
At the time, Constable Lance Waddell was assigned to the school as a School Resource Officer.
“She told me ‘Officer Lance’ is a very nice person, I should talk to him and he might be able to help me,” recalled Mbarouk. “When I met him for the first time and told him what I wanted to do, he advised me not to get into trouble with the law, volunteer in the community and pursue my passion. He also said if I needed any advice, I should not hesitate to reach out to him. That was the first positive interaction I had with a police officer. Previously, I was stopped by police randomly and the engagement was always negative. He changed my whole perspective on the way I look at police.”
Constable Lance Waddell (r) presented Constable Rashid Mbarouk with his badge on graduation day (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
After finishing high school at the defunct Vaughan Road Academy, he completed the Humber College Police Foundations program and worked as a security officer part-time before applying to several police organizations in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.
“I really wanted to be a police officer and it didn’t matter how far I had to go to become one,” Mbarouk said.
His dream came true on his second try with Toronto Police and he was among 114 recruits who graduated on June 5 at the Toronto Police College.
Last April while completing training at the college, Mbarouk ran into Waddell who was doing a course.
“It was at the end of my lunchbreak and this new cadet stopped me in the hallway,” said Waddell who is a Neighbourhood Community Officer in 42 Division.
“He appeared nervous but looked me straight in the eye and asked if I was ‘Officer Lance’. Because of the type of course I was on, I was not in uniform. Once I confirmed it was me, he asked if I remembered him. It took a few moments, but I recognized his face. I said ‘Rashid’ and then was overcome with joy and a few tears after he said I was the one that inspired him to become a police officer. That encounter was deeply moving.”
Waddell is the son of community worker Lynette Waddell who passed away two days after her 55th birthday in May 2002.
In 1997, she was honoured with a Harry Jerome Award for Volunteerism.
The late Lynette Waddell (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“My mom was very passionate about helping others,” he pointed out. “The dedicated work I put in the communities I serve is a testament to the principles and values she instilled in me. As I begin my 18th year as an officer, I can say with extreme confidence that the work we are doing means more than we can truly comprehend. To impact the lives of many is the main goal, but even if we can only have one positive impact from time to time, I consider that success.”
Waddell presented Mbarouk with his badge on graduation day.
The rookie cop starts his policing career in 51 Division.
“I wanted to go to 32 Division where I was raised, but I got a Division that is in a priority neighbourhood and am happy about going there,” Mbarouk said. “I can relate to some of the challenges that residents’ face in that community.”
In the batch of new officers, there are five Youth in Policing Initiative (YIPI) graduates, including Anthony Perkins.
He completed the YIPI program virtually in 2021 during the pandemic and, at age 20, is the uniformed officer class youngest graduate.
Anthony Perkins, who completed the YIPI program in 2021, was the youngest police constable graduate (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Positive interactions with officers while attending Silverthorn Junior Public School triggered Perkins interest in policing.
“They played ball hockey with us in our little area,” he said. “From then, I looked up to them and wanted to be a police officer serving the community.”
Assigned to 43 Division, Perkins – who owned a clothing business while in school -- is entering a profession his father once had an interest in.
“He wanted to be a cop in Jamaica, but it didn’t happen,” said the young man who migrated in 2007. “I know I am very young, but I am ready for this. The training has been excellent.”
Enrolled in Toronto Metropolitan University Business Management program, Perkins plans to complete the 13 courses needed to get his undergraduate degree.
YIPI Program Co-ordinator Melva Radway said the recruit is wise beyond his years.
“I knew Anthony was in school and doing very well,” she said. “But he was so focused on becoming an officer. He knows what he wants and I admire that about him. In everything we did during the program, he took a leadership role. He stood out in the class.”
Before participating in the YIPI program in 2013, Adam Holness wanted to be a lawyer.
There was a change after he completed the six-week summer program that caters to high school and university students, between 15 and 18, who come from City of Toronto-designated Neighbourhood Improvement Areas and often struggle to find summer employment.
“I felt welcomed the moment I entered 33 Division a decade ago,” said Holness. “The officers were great and I was given the opportunity to take part in several community events. Once I saw how much the officers were engaged in and with the community, I said I wanted to be part of that.”
The West Hill Collegiate Institute graduate, who completed York University Humanities program, returned to the YIPI program in 2020 to serve for two years as a Program Assistant.
With Radway and Brenden McDonald, they developed the first YIPI virtual program during COVID-19.
Holness is assigned to 33 Division.
“After my experience there 10 years ago, that was my first choice and I am extremely fortunate to get my wish,” he added. “It is just a great community to work in.”
The Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) has supported the YIPI program from the inception.
Alok Mukherjee was at the helm of the Board that had earlier passed a motion to explore hiring young people during the summer.
“To have these five individuals, who learned about the Service as young people, come back to make policing their chosen career is incredibly powerful,” said new Board Chair Ann Morgan.
Former Ontario government minister Mary Anne Chambers was instrumental in getting the program up and running after she was approached by Mukherjee and retired Deputy Chiefs Keith Forde and Peter Sloly to explore funding for the ground-breaking initiative.
When they asked Chambers for funding for 50 students, she asked, ‘Why not 100?’
“While recruitment is not the primary purpose of the YIPI program, these successes also serve to illustrate the achievement of other intended objectives which include developing better understanding and stronger relationships between police services and Ontario’s youth,” noted the University of Guelph Chancellor who has been instructing YIPI participants on leadership the last few years.
“This is as important now as it was in 2005 when I, in the role of Minister of Children and Youth Services, announced the creation of the program. We also know that there are Toronto Police Service YIPI alumni who have joined other Services. This is all good. I believe the program participants and alumni, including those who do not choose policing as a career, have developed extremely valuable skills that will serve them very well in whatever careers they choose. I also think of the positive impact that the experience must have on their families and friends.”
YIPI graduates Adam Holness (l), Gianluca Civichino, Anthony Perkins, Christopher Sasso & Shu Ming Zhang are now uniformed police officers (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Danielle Dowdy, the program’s first Co-ordinator, said it has come a long way since the inception.
“We invested so much in our young people through this program and the social return on that investment has been incredible for the Service and the City,” the TPSB Strategic Policy & Stakeholder Relations Senior Advisor said. “It is among my most personally rewarding work. The fact that it is still going strong is a testament to the amazing young people who have put themselves forward to be YIPIs, the dedicated and phenomenal YIPI administrative team and the unwavering support from every Chief and Command since 2006.”
Since the program inception 17 years ago, 31 alumni – 16 uniformed and 15 civilian – have returned to work with TPS.
