Nominated for the POA Hero of the Year Award, Det. Cst. Mark Abrams praised his team for their persistence in catching a suspect who was exposing himself to high school students. (Photo: Nicole Kleinsteuber / Quinte News)
Sometimes we have heroes, who work behind the scenes to keep the community safe, that aren’t so visible.
Belleville Detective Constable Mark Abrams does just that.
The well-respected senior detective with the Belleville Police Service has been nominated for the Police Association of Ontario’s Hero of the Year Award.
Now in its second year, the award provides the public with an opportunity to nominate and recognize their hero for the work they do for Ontarians. This nomination can be related to a specific event whereby a police officer or a civilian police services employee went above and beyond the call of duty, or it can be in recognition for their ongoing support and involvement within their respective community.
Abrams was given the nod by a local high school student for his role in catching a suspect that was exposing himself to young students in 2015.
“Officer Abrams was one of the many police officers who helped myself and other classmates at my high school in finding someone who was exposing himself to young students,” the nominator wrote. “I had been exposed twice within a year. He made sure that during my time speaking with him at the station or at school was very relaxed and calm. His determination to find the suspect was still incredibly strong. A lot of students in high school are usually threatened by police presence; but this feeling was totally different. It was safety. Officers like him provide the community with a positive outlook on law enforcement which I believe to be highly important. Being able to walk to school without being worried of that happening was a great relief. Thank you.”
A very humble Det. Cst. Abrams who has been with the BPS for 13 years and now works in the major crimes unit of the Criminal Investigations Division said it was a team effort.
During the investigation, Abrams said officers were posing as high school students.
Belleville Detective Staff Sargent Kris Patterson described Abrams as well respected and well liked by his colleagues.
“He takes on major investigations using major case management,” explained Kris. “He has an analytical mind to analyze data from different cases and draw links. Mark took that on in this case.”
Major case management is a software system that requires officers to have knowledge and a skill set to input data that’s understandable and retrievable for anyone, even from other police departments. Abrams is the Belleville officer trained in using the system.
Patterson said with a solid team behind him, Abrams formed the opinion that numerous cases across the Belleville area were linked to one perpetrator.
“He worked behind the scenes and was able to say we’ve got a bad person in our city causing young women to feel frightened to walk to and from school,” recalled Patterson. “There was a team behind him to catch this bad guy. He stepped up and took it on.”
Last year Cst. Jesse McInroy was nominated for his role in dealing with a call involving a challenged person.
The deadline for submissions for the award is March 19. For more information log on to http://www.policehero.ca
