Canadian Banks’ Law Enforcement Award

Every year the Canadian Banks' Law Enforcement Award recognizes outstanding police performance in fighting crime against Canadian banks. Recipients of this prestigious award have gone above and beyond the call of duty while preventing and investigating crimes against Canada's financial institutions.

Since 1972, the Canadian Bankers Association has honoured 221 Canadian police officers. The Award is presented annually at a formal ceremony at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

Protecting the security and safety of its employees and customers is a priority for the Canadian banking industry. Crimes affecting our banks range from robbery to high tech and highly organized fraud operations. Together our financial institutions and law enforcement agencies continue to partner in combating crime every day.

For more information on how you can help protect yourself from financial crime, click here.

Eligibility

All active (at the time of the incident) law enforcement officers considered to have exhibited outstanding bravery, detective ability or other noteworthy achievement involving Canadian banks are eligible to receive the Award. To be considered, nominees should meet one or more of these additional criteria:

Bravery

• Exceptional bravery, measure of courage, degree of resourcefulness and extent to which individuals’ own life was at risk
• Individual knowingly put themselves at risk protecting bank employee, customer or bank property
• Investigation involved threat of serious bodily harm, death or imminent danger

Investigation

• Unique, but not necessarily high-profile, investigation involving the banking industry
• Investigation overcame unusual obstacles, extenuating circumstances, lengthy period of time or personal sacrifice

Nomination process

Nominations are accepted by e-mail from CBA member banks and Canadian law enforcement agencies. If you have questions about the award or would like to nominate a deserving officer please contact: security@cba.ca

2011 Honourees

The 2011 Canadian Banks’ Law Enforcement Award (CBLEA) was presented to the following outstanding officers:

Sergeant Randy Rechner – Edmonton General Investigation Section, RCMP

Sergeant Randy Rechner was awarded the CBLEA in recognition of his role in the identification and apprehension of a violent gang of bank robbers.

In late 2009, several financial institutions in northern Alberta were held up by a gang of armed bank robbers. With each new robbery, the criminals became more unpredictable, assaulting bank customers and staff and increasing the potential for serious injury or death.

Sergeant Randy Rechner was assigned to coordinate and lead a multi-jurisdictional investigation into the robberies. With an already heavy caseload and limited resources, Sergeant Rechner was able to determine that the stolen vehicles used in the robberies had come from Edmonton. Armed with this information, he tapped into his network of sources to identify suspects and coordinate a manhunt that encompassed Edmonton and surrounding communities. Working tirelessly over an eight week period, including over Christmas and New Year’s, Sergeant Rechner and his team were able to identify and apprehend all suspects involved.

Sergeant Rechner’s hard work and determination led to the arrest of a dangerous group of violent criminals and enabled prosecutors to develop a strong case against the suspects.

Detective Constable Jay Shaddick – Durham Regional Police Service

Detective Constable Jay Shaddick was awarded the CBLEA in recognition of his role in uncovering and arresting a sophisticated, internationally-connected organized crime group whose fraudulent activities exposed banks to millions of dollars in potential losses.

Between May and June of 2009, a number of banks in Ontario’s Durham Region began to notice a sharp increase in ABM tampering, with criminals installing overlay devises on machines’ card readers, in an effort to fraudulently copy and duplicate unsuspecting victims’ debit cards.

Coordinating a full-time surveillance team, Detective Constable Shaddick was able to monitor a warehouse where it was suspected the fraudulent ABM overlay devices were produced. This surveillance led to multiple arrests and resulted in the largest seizure of ABM tampering devices in Durham Regional Police history. Included in the seizure were over 110 ABM tampering devices, thousands of counterfeit debit cards as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen property. It was estimated that each ABM overlay device seized could have netted the criminal organization between $80,000 to $100,000.

Detective Constable Shaddick’s perseverance and commitment to the case led to the apprehension of a well organized group of internationally connected criminals, directly contributing to Canada’s economic integrity.

Questions about the award?

Contact: Laura Kinsley
Canadian Bankers Association
(416) 362-6093, ext. 234

For a complete list of honourees, click here