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AWARDS AND BURSARIES
The Jim Aspiotis
Memorial Award
The passing of Jim Aspiotis in February of 2021 has reverberated across the criminal justice system. His loss has been devastating to his family and friends. The ONGIA board, and broader ONGIA community, has felt this keenly. Indeed, ONGIA has never known a minute where Jim was not a tireless board member. He was an inspirational leader and president for many years.
His motto of “LEARN, SHARE AND STAY SAFE” is the bedrock upon which ONGIA is built.
With the support of his family, the Jim Aspiotis memorial award is being established to recognize outstanding work.
This can be either for a lifetime of accomplishments, or in recognition of an exceptional achievement.
This Award is aimed at individuals, like Jim Aspiotis, who have demonstrated outstanding professionalism and a profound dedication to the safety of their community and all its members.
sgt. raj jaswal
The Jim Aspiotis Memorial Award RECIPIENT
Vancouver Police Department
In recognition of an individual who has demonstrated outstanding professionalism and profound dedication to the safety of the communities they serve, this year's inaugural Jim Aspiotis Memorial award recipient is Sgt. Raj Jaswal, of the Vancouver Police Department.
Raj has extensive experience in gang enforcement, intervention and suppression. Raj has focused considerable time on intelligence gathering and human assets across BC; in 2014, he was recognized for his work with a departmental commendation for developing strategies to curb gang violence in his region. In 2021, he was recognized for his superior accomplishments in gang investigations by the National Gang Crime Research Center in Chicago, Illinois with the Frederick Milton Thrasher Award.
This year, Raj presented at the 2022 ONGIA conference on the emergence and evolution of South Asian gangs in Canada, speaking about the uniqueness of these gangs while highlighting key crime figures, major groups, major conflicts, methods of operation and their global networking ability in North America and beyond.
Rules for nominations:
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Typed nomination letter with narrative that provides a thorough description of the work performed by the nominee and how they impacted their community.
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All nominations must be received no later than September 30th, 2023.
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Nominations must be emailed to the President at the link here
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The ONGIA Board will evaluate the nominations and select the winner.
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The Winner will be announced during the ONGIA Annual Conference.