Did you know that good environmental design can reduce incidences of crime and unwanted activity? At The Unconventional Classroom I offer Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) audits which can help reduce the opportunity, the desire and the ability of...

Six years ago on a frigid cold Christmas Eve, I was one of several investigators involved in a heart-breaking case after a baby had been found in a recycling bin by a bottle picker.  In the pursuit to identify the infant’s mother we all worked hard that holiday season...

I believe that in people driven to be successful, failure is part of that evolution towards success. For people who are not driven, failure too often becomes the reason to quit. But with each failure we ultimately get closer to the solution, if we let ourselves fall...

Policing has taught me that there are very few certainties in life and just because we can do something doesn't mean we always should. Our actions, even if by-the-book, can have unintentional yet still incredibly damaging consequences to people. Discretion is an...

Throughout this project, I have listened to what Dave hasn't said as much as what he has. When we all listen to each other, when we notice the voice of the pauses, as much as we do the words, we hear that much more. As Dave recounted his time with an undercover street...

Before this book, I knew Dave in a peripheral sort of way. He was that homicide detective that gave presentations to writing groups: pleasant enough, with a sense of humour and surprisingly patient. Dave’s schedule is no less crammed than everyone else’s, arguably...

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.” I think Emerson was on to something. People have a tendency to catastrophize what they anticipate will become a negative experience instead of taking on...

One of my favourite quotes is from Mahatma Gandhi, ”Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Those words can apply in a lot of different areas, but let’s explore it as it pertains to communication. I’ve noticed that much of the tension we experience in life can be...

Our apologies in advance as both Sarah and I recognize it's been far too long since we last fed our "blog", but as is the case for many of us with the best of intentions, sometimes life and circumstance just get in the way. With that said, things seem to have quieted...