Three-term city Councillor Kelly Chahal has a storied career in Abbotsford.  In addition to her decades as a probation officer, she chairs the city’s public safety committee, participates in the Purple Lights Campaign -- part of the violence against women in relationships committee (VAWIR) -- and she is part of the Empower Goddess group which…

Even as a child, the intricacies of law have always appealed to Ryan Buhrig. So, when it was time to pinpoint a career, it was no surprise which field he would pursue. The only question left was: which direction of law would serve his greatest purpose? As an undergraduate student at the University of British…

Aaron Pete (BA Crim '17) is the personification of the saying “it takes a village to raise a child.” He grew up along the corridor of downtown Chilliwack’s Wellington Avenue, the only child of a single mother with a disability. As he made his way to and from Central Elementary each day, he did so…

The provincial election campaign is now over and all the votes have been cast. While final result will not be known in some ridings for a couple of weeks due to the need to count the large number of mail-in ballots, one thing is certain: several Fraser Valley candidates have a UFV connection. In Abbotsford-Mission,…

Early on in his career at the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), an aspiring Matthew Harty would occasionally help in street-level undercover work during a patrol shift. “I was quite young, so I was always a student, that was my story,” he says remembering the start of his police career. He would give the buy money…

Criminal justice students had the chance to share their research on the global stage recently. Amanda McCormick, director of the UFV School Criminology and Criminal Justice, travelled to New York with BA Criminal Justice student Lauren Kempers and MA Criminal Justice student Caleigh West to present at the United Nations 63rd Session of the Commission…

As a kid who feasted on pulp fiction, Seamus Heffernan thought the coolest guy in the room only needed two things – a tan trench coat and enough grit to pave the Trans-Canada Highway. Seven years, 7,000 kilometers and one master’s degree later, and Heffernan finally has his own flawed hero in Thaddeus Grayle, the…

We all struggle with willpower when dealing with our addictive tendencies. Keeping our hand out of the cookie jar if we’re dieting. Staying away from cocktail hour if we’re trying to stop drinking, or avoiding the casino if gambling is the issue. And a new rule preventing gamblers from keeping the jackpot if they win…

Jessica Jahn shouldn’t have trouble finding great Italian food when she moves into her new place this September. After all, it’s in Turin. Living less than two hours from the French border wasn’t part of the plan when Jahn graduated with a Criminal Justice degree this spring. Now she’s moving on after accepting an internship…

Chief Doug LePard didn’t need a master’s degree. But he wanted one. The Chief of the Metro Vancouver Transit Police force decided it was “now or never” two years ago and joined the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice program at the University of the Fraser Valley. On June 6, he will cross the UFV…

He might not match your vision of a university student, unless your default is a high-level, mid-career RCMP leader in his 50s. That’s the stage of life Gary Bass was at when he first attended the University of the Fraser Valley. Bass, the 2016 winner of the UFV Distinguished Alumni award, was part of the…

Urbanization is a driving force of change, as well as a source of development with the power to change and improve lives. By 2050, the urban population alone will be larger than the current total world population, posing massive sustainability challenges in terms of housing, infrastructure, basic services, and jobs, among others. Urbanization affects us…

Think about about those little Russian dolls. The smallest doll is surrounded by a larger one, which is in turn enveloped by an even bigger one, which is finally held safely by the largest doll of all. A healthy community is sort of like these dolls. The youngest and most vulnerable are cared for by…

Drug addiction impacts individuals, families, and the community. A panel discussion at UFV on Wed, March 2, will delve into this troubling issue, examining the physiology of addiction, types of addictive behaviours, and the management of addiction through pharmaceutical and other methods. The event runs from 5:30 to 7 pm in the Aboriginal Gathering Place…

When parents are sent to prison, their children are often sentenced to suffering. That was the conclusion of a study by criminology and social work researchers at the University of the Fraser Valley last year. Now a coalition of researchers has released a set of guidelines that recognizes this and sets national standards for the…