Dr. Peter Collins has been a Forensic Psychiatrist with the Ontario Provincial Police since 1995. From 1990 to 1995 he was a member of the first profiling unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Violent Crime Analysis Section, and was involved in the development of the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS). Since 1992 he has been a member of the Crisis/Hostage Negotiation Team of the Toronto Police Service Emergency Task Force.

Peter obtained his Masters in Applied Criminology (MCA), from the University of Ottawa, his Medical Degree from McMaster University and completed his postgraduate medical training in psychiatry and forensic psychiatry at the University of Toronto. His clinical appointment is with the Complex Care and Recovery Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.  Peter is an Associate Professor, in the Division of Forensic Psychiatry, at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

He is a Certified Threat Assessment Professional (Canada) through the Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.

Peter is a consulting editor with the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, published by the American Psychological Association, and a columnist with Blue Line Magazine.

He retired from the Canadian Armed Forces (Reserves), at the rank of Lieutenant-Commander, and served on 2 deployments in Southern Afghanistan.  In October 2012 he was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contribution to the Canadian Forces. Peter is an advisor to the newly formed Toronto Police Service outreach program for veterans in crisis.

In 1997 Peter was elected a member of the International Criminal Investigative Analysis Fellowship. In 2015 he received a lifetime achievement award from the World Association of Detectives and a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Critical Incident Association, in 2017. In 2023 he was appointed to the National Expert Committee on Countering Radicalization to Violence, by the Minister Public Safety, Canada.  Peter is an authority on violent crime and has worked with, and instructed, numerous criminal justice agencies in North America, and 26 countries internationally, including the FBI, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Interpol, and Europol.

Jim letten is a member of Butler Snow LLP’s Compliance, Corporate Investigations and White Collar team. He is a 1979 Tulane University Law graduate, consults and provides representation on international trade and regulatory issues, including the establishment of FCPA/UK Bribery Act corporate compliance and integrity programs; Anti-Money Laundering/Bank Secrecy Act/Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/BSA/CTF) compliance programs; crafting and reviewing Anti-Corruption warranties in corporate mergers and acquisitions; and training and monitoring state and local police departments on constitutional policing, as well as complex litigation. He previously served 34 years as a prosecutor (30 years of it with the United States Department of Justice). Before his federal retirement at the end of 2012, Jim was the longest-serving United States Attorney in the nation and one of only three U.S. Attorneys appointed to the position by successive presidents from different parties. In all, he spent nearly 12 continuous years as the United States Attorney in New Orleans/Southeast Louisiana, during which his office led the nation in corruption prosecutions. Prior to serving as the ranking federal law enforcement official in the district, Jim had distinguished himself as Organized Crime Strike Force Chief and later First Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Jim spent over 30 years prosecuting virtually every type of complex state and federal white collar, narcotics, violent crime and corruption offense (including extensive use of RICO prosecutions). Among his many notable corruption cases, which Jim personally led, was: Operation Hardcrust, which yielded the convictions of 25 individuals, including the entire core leadership (Boss, Underboss, Consigliere and others) of the New Orleans La Cosa Nostra crime family—as well as a New York Gambino family captain and other mob members—on RICO and related federal offenses arising out of a scheme to infiltrate and control Louisiana’s newly-legalized video poker industry; and later, the investigation, prosecution, four-month trial and conviction of former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards and others for operating a RICO criminal enterprise and extortion schemes resulting from their corrupt influence in the state’s fledgling riverboat casino industry’s licensing process. During Letten’s years as U.S. Attorney, he was credited by the local press with waging a campaign against public corruption “with a ferocity unmatched in recent history”.

A military veteran of 20 years in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Jim is a retired Navy Commander, having focused much of his military intelligence career on foreign counterintelligence (having been variously tasked to the Defense Intelligence Agency and Office of Naval Intelligence); and some 13 of those years as a fully-credentialled NCIS Agent.

Jim was recently appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to serve as a Board member of the 14-member Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board—having served since 2017 as a LADB Hearing Committee Chair.

Jim is married to JoAnn for 41 years, with two children and two grandchildren.

Roger Brown joined the RCMP in 1980, serving in Quebec and Newfoundland.

He worked in uniform and in plain clothes, taught at Depot, worked in VIP travel having the opportunity to work with Prime Ministers and the Queen of England while working across numerous provinces in Canada.

In 2008, he became the Commanding Officer of the RCMP Academy (Depot Division) until his transfer to New Brunswick in 2013, where he became the 29th Commanding Officer of the RCMP in New Brunswick (J Division).

In his role of Commanding Officer, Mr. Brown oversaw the investigation into the murder of three Moncton RCMP officers in 2014. On June 4th, 2016, after a distinguished 36-year career, then-Assistant Commissioner Brown retired from the RCMP.

In 2019, he was appointed as Chief of Police for Fredericton, NB, a department mourning the loss of two of their officers. He was tested by three years in New Brunswick that were marked by other tragic, high-profile events.

In the first few months after he arrived, an escaped python killed two young boys in Campbellton, NB. Then a series of shale gas protests culminated in a violent demonstration in Rexton, NB, during which 40 people were arrest and six police vehicles burned. He also presided over the case of an RCMP officer who took his own life in 2014 following a struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, and the debate over using marijuana for treatment.

Mr. Brown retired from his illustrious policing career in December 2022 and now engages in public speaking throughout Canada. He lives in New Brunswick enjoying time on his boat and with his family.

Darren Balsom has been a Threat Assessment Specialist with the Calgary Police Service for the past 10 years and is currently assigned to the Behavioural Sciences Unit (BSU).  In 2017, Darren completed the RCMP Threat Evaluation and Management understudy and is currently enrolled in the Criminal Investigative Analysis (Criminal Profiling) Understudy program also with the RCMP.  Prior to BSU Darren has worked in the High-Risk Offender Program, Serious Habitual Offender Program and General Analysis Section.  Darren held a contract with the Correctional Services of Canada

Darren is a member of The Association of Treatment of Sexual Abusers, The Association of Threat Assessment Professionals and is the President of the Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.

Darren has conducted Threat and Risk Assessment training to various government and non-governmental agencies such as the Parole Board of Canada, the Correctional Services of Canada, Alberta Child and Family Services, the Calgary Police Service Child Abuse Unit, Calgary Catholic School District, the Calgary Board of Education, the Calgary John Howard Society, the Circles of Support and Accountability and the RCMP.

Darren is a graduate of the Psychology and Criminology programs of Memorial University of Newfoundland.

ASIRT was created under the Police Act and is an independent, civilian-led agency. ASIRT investigates events and police officers whose conduct may have caused serious injury or death; and/or has led to serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct such as: breach of trust, obstruction of justice, sexual assault, perjury, theft, fraud.

The Director of Law Enforcement assigns the agency’s files and ASIRT may be directed to conduct an investigation, take over an ongoing investigation, review the investigation of a police agency or oversee and provide direction on an investigation being conducted by a police agency.

ASIRT’s Executive Director decides, after consulting the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, whether a police officer should be criminally charged.

After a career in the private sector, Todd Nichol joined the Calgary Police Service in 2008.  After leaving patrol duties and promoting to Detective, Todd worked in a variety of units including the Serious Habitual Offender Program (SHOP), High Risk Offender Program (HROP), Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) and in the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU).  In the four years Todd spent in the Anti-Corruption Unit, he was the primary investigator of many sensitive and/or corruption investigations including “Operation Gumshoe” which he will speak about at this Symposium. Todd continues to be a dedicated investigator and is currently assigned to the Child Abuse Unit.

Sergeant John Grillone

Sergeant John Grillone is an 18 year member of the Calgary Police Service. He has working in the following areas: Patrol, Special Duties, SHOP, GIU . In 2015 he became the Sergeant of the Peer Support Program which supports sworn and civilian members.

Tavia Nazarko (MA, RNBN)

Tavia Nazarko is a registered nurse and has worked In the Mental Health field for the past 24 years supporting individuals in their wellness and recovery. She began working with the Calgary Police Service in 2022 as the Peer Support Nurse Therapist and for the last 10 months as the A/Manager of the Organizational Wellness Unit.

Lajvir S. Benipal was called to the Alberta bar in December 2011.  Over the last 12 years, he has worked as a Criminal Defense attorney and as a Crown Prosecutor at all three levels of government (Federal, Provincial and Municipal).  Currently, Lajvir holds the role of Presenting Officer with the CPS Professional Standards Section.  As the Presenting Officer, Lajriv is part of the hearing team that is responsible for internal disciplinary hearings against cited officers.