Saanich Police - Constable Robert N. Barry Kirby Memorial Award

Award description

This award is for a graduating student from the Criminal Justice Program, who has demonstrated commitment to service through helping their fellow students or members of the college community.

On April 24th , 1960, Constable Kirby was working the front desk at the Saanich Police Department when a psychiatric patient escaped from the Colquitz Provincial Mental Hospital on Wilkinson Road (the current site of the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre). The escapee broke into a nearby resident's shed, where he stole a .22 caliber rifle, then fired upon some of the unarmed hospital staff. Without hesitation, Constable Kirby immediately joined other Saanich Police officers and responded to the Wilkinson Road area. While searching for the escapee, Constable Kirby was shot in an ambush and died. Constable Kirby is the only Saanich police officer to die in the line of duty. This award recognizes the student who has placed others before themselves in the college environment.