FY 2006 IVLP MRP on International Crime Issues -

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 OTTAWA 001579

SIPDIS

STATE

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO OEXC SCUL CA IV
SUBJECT: FY 2006 IVLP MRP on International Crime Issues -
June 29-July 20, 2006 - Steve Rai (Principal Candidate)

REFERENCE: OTTAWA 1504

Post is pleased to nominate Steve Rai, Sergeant in the
Vancouver Police Department, for subject project. This
project supports the Mission goal of combating international
crime. Mr. Rai has full country team approval. EVDB-
formatted nomination follows.

START FIXED-FORMAT TEXT (PLEASE DO NOT EDIT):
: The following data is in a fixed format which enables
: automated processing in Washington and should not be
: edited except by means of the Post-EVDB software.
EXPORT-SOURCE: POST-EVDB
VERSION: 3.0.7
POST-EMAIL: slw@pd.state.gov
TRANSMITTING-POST: PAS Ottawa
TRANSMITTING-POST-ID: 6540
EXPORT-TYPE: BIO DATA
START NOMINATION:
ECA-OFFICE: E/VRW
PROG-AGENCY-NAME:
POST-PROJ-ID: 358
ECA-PROJ-NO:
PROJ-NAME: Rai, Steve - MRP International Crime Issues, June
29-July 20,2006
START MEMO PROJ-DESC:

END MEMO PROJ-DESC:
PROJ-TYPE: Multi-Regional
PROG-TYPE: IV Grant Visitor
FY: 2006
DEPART-POST: 6/28/2006
SESSION-DATE: 6/29/2006
RETURN-POST: 7/21/2006
NO-OF-PART: 1
RANK-ORDER: 5
START MEMO POST-OBJ:
Steve Rai is a 38 year old, highly motivated leader within
the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) with excellent
potential to move up in the ranks. During his tenure as a
police officer, he has risen to the rank of sergeant while
working not only as a street level officer but also as a
recruiter, negotiator and liaison to the Indo-Canadian
community. Sergeant Rai is one of the youngest sergeants in
the Vancouver Police and has been identified by VPD
management as a probable future senior manager. His
willingness to understand U.S. culture and views and his
potential to influence both cross-border policing and his
community make him an outstanding candidate for the IV
program.
Sergeant Rai is an ethnic Sikh Pungabi East Indian and is
extensively involved with the 230,000 member Vancouver Indo-
Canadian community where he acts as the VPD liaison. He has
been involved in numerous high profile investigations of
Indo-Canadian organized criminal groups who routinely target
the U.S. with criminal attacks on U.S. financial payment
systems and smuggling of illegal drugs. The Indo-Canadian
community controls most of the British Columbia trucking
industry that ships a huge amount of legitimate and
illegitimate exports to/from the U.S. each day including
vast amounts of B.C. grown marijuana and other contraband.
Furthermore, Indo-Canadian gangs are responsible for high-
dollar counterfeit debit and credit card attacks on U.S.
financial institutions. The Indo-Canadian gangs involved in
these organized criminal activities are highly volatile and
have accounted for an inordinate amount of violent crime
including more than 50 homicides in the past six years.
Canadian and U.S. law enforcement and B.C. government
officials have identified the illicit activities of Indo-
Canadian gangs as a major criminal and social problem and
expend considerable resources on investigating and
preventing their criminal and violent actions which often
have a major impact on the U.S. Sgt. Rai is an influential
partner in these efforts.
Sgt. Rai not only uses his knowledge of Indo-Canadian
culture and his skills as a Punjabi and Hindi speaker to
investigate criminal activities in that community but he is
also proactive in improving the relationship between Indo-
Canadians and others. He devotes both professional and
personal time to various community boards, safety committees
and focus groups. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian
Studies from the University of British Columbia and has
continued to enhance his knowledge of Asian issues by
traveling extensively to India and other Asian countries to
further his education.
Sgt. Rai has a strong background as a police officer with
not only routine patrol and management assignments but also
specialized assignments as an emergency response team
hostage negotiator, forensic interviewer, internal
investigator and critical incident stress team responder,
all of which make him an outstanding prospect for senior
management. In his current role as the VPD recruitment
officer, Sgt. Rai has sought to elevate the educational and
ethical standards for VPD recruits and is interested in
consulting with U.S. police as to their experiences and
methods used to enhance professionalism of their
departments.
In conclusion, Sgt. Rai is a valuable contact for the
federal law enforcement agencies at the Vancouver U.S.
Consulate and is on track to becoming a senior manager
within the Vancouver Police Department. His sphere of
influence includes not only VPD and their policies
concerning cooperation with U.S. law enforcement on cross-
border counter-terrorism, drug smuggling, financial crimes,
human trafficking and other criminal investigations but
also, as a leader in the Indo-Canadian community, includes
influence within the second largest ethnic group in B.C. and
their understanding of U.S. goals and policies. The IVP
would benefit Sgt. Rai because although he has an
exceptional amount of experience and education for a law
enforcement official of his age, he has had very little
exposure to the U.S. culture and policies. Sgt. Rai has
never lived in the U.S. nor has he traveled there much. The
IVP program would provide this exceptional young
professional with an understanding of U.S. culture and views
and serve as the cornerstone for the pursuit of common goals
with him, his profession and his community.
END MEMO POST-OBJ:
START MEMO POST-RCMD:
We recommend that Mr. Rai participate in an MRP on
international crime. There are two possibilities--The EU MRP
on Combatting International Crime scheduled for Sep. 25 -
Oct. 13, 2006 or the MRP on International Crime Issues
scheduled for Jun 29 - July 20, 2006.
END MEMO POST-RCMD:
ECA-OFFICE-ID: 1037
PROG-AGENCY-ID:
PROJ-TYPE-ID: MRP
PROG-TYPE-ID: 29
NOMINATING-POST-ID: 88501
FUNDING-CNTRY-ID: 322158
STATUS: N
ORIGINATOR: P
SUBJ-DISC: Law Enforcement
START BIO:
PREFIX: Mr.
F-NAME: Steve
M-NAME:
L-NAME: Rai
SUFFIX:
POSITION-CODE: 100
PRINCIPAL?: Yes
GENDER: M
DOB: 05/04/1966
MAR-STAT: U
BIRTH-CITY: Punjab
BIRTH-CNTRY: India
CITIZ-CNTRY: Canada
RES-CNTRY: Canada
START MEMO POSITION:
Sergeant - Vancouver Police Department
END MEMO POSITION:
START MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS:

END MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS:
START MEMO PREV-POSITIONS:
Constable - Vancouver Police Department
END MEMO PREV-POSITIONS:
START MEMO US-TRAVEL:
October, 2004 - Las Vegas Police Critical Incident Advanced
Training Course
2000, 2001 and 2003 - Vacations at Disneyland
1999 - Hawaii vacation
No U.S. government funded trips
END MEMO US-TRAVEL:
START MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL:
Middle East-Jordan and Egypt 1999
India 1995, 1998, 2001
Singapore 1995, 1998
END MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL:
START MEMO EDUCATION:
Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies, University of British
Columbia
END MEMO EDUCATION:
START MEMO MEMBERSHIPS:

END MEMO MEMBERSHIPS:
START MEMO PUBLICATIONS:

END MEMO PUBLICATIONS:
START MEMO SPEC-CONSID:
none
END MEMO SPEC-CONSID:
FIRST-LANG: English
ENGL-READ: 5
ENGL-SPEAK: 5
ENGL-COMP: 5
START OTHER-LANGS:
OTHER-LANG: Hindi
OTHER-LANG-ID: HJ
READ: 2
SPEAK: 2
COMP: 2
END OTHER-LANGS:
START OTHER-LANGS:
OTHER-LANG: Other
OTHER-LANG-ID: YZ
READ: 5
SPEAK: 5
COMP: 5
END OTHER-LANGS:
START MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ:

END MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ:
START MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD:


END MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD:
START MEMO VIS-OBJ:

END MEMO VIS-OBJ:
START MEMO VIS-REC:

END MEMO VIS-REC:
NOMINATING-OFFICER: Thomas Musselwhite - USSS et al
START MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION:
Steve Rai is a 38 year old, highly motivated leader within
the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) with excellent
potential to move up in the ranks. During his tenure as a
police officer, he has risen to the rank of sergeant while
working not only as a street level officer but also as a
recruiter, negotiator and liaison to the Indo-Canadian
community. Sergeant Rai is one of the youngest sergeants in
the Vancouver Police and has been identified by VPD
management as a probable future senior manager. His
willingness to understand U.S. culture and views and his
potential to influence both cross-border policing and his
community make him an outstanding candidate for the IVLP
program.
Sergeant Rai is an ethnic Sikh Punjabi East Indian and is
extensively involved with the 230,000 member Vancouver Indo-
Canadian community where he acts as the VPD liaison. He has
been involved in numerous high profile investigations of
Indo-Canadian organized criminal groups who routinely target
the U.S. with criminal attacks on U.S. financial payment
systems and smuggling of illegal drugs. The Indo-Canadian
community controls most of the British Columbia trucking
industry that ships a huge amount of legitimate and
illegitimate exports to/from the U.S. each day including
vast amounts of B.C. grown marijuana and other contraband.
Furthermore, Indo-Canadian gangs are responsible for high-
dollar counterfeit debit and credit card attacks on U.S.
financial institutions. The Indo-Canadian gangs involved in
these organized criminal activities are highly volatile and
have accounted for an inordinate amount of violent crime
including more than 50 homicides in the past six years.
Canadian and U.S. law enforcement and B.C. government
officials have identified the illicit activities of Indo-
Canadian gangs as a major criminal and social problem and
expend considerable resources on investigating and
preventing their criminal and violent actions which often
have a major impact on the U.S. Sgt. Rai is an influential
partner in these efforts.
Sgt. Rai not only uses his knowledge of Indo-Canadian
culture and his skills as a Punjabi and Hindi speaker to
investigate criminal activities in that community but he is
also proactive in improving the relationship between Indo-
Canadians and others. He devotes both professional and
personal time to various community boards, safety committees
and focus groups. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian
Studies from the University of British Columbia and has
continued to enhance his knowledge of Asian issues by
traveling extensively to India and other Asian countries to
further his education.
Sgt. Rai has a strong background as a police officer with
not only routine patrol and management assignments but also
specialized assignments as an emergency response team
hostage negotiator, forensic interviewer, internal
investigator and critical incident stress team responder,
all of which make him an outstanding prospect for senior
management. In his current role as the VPD recruitment
officer, Sgt. Rai has sought to elevate the educational and
ethical standards for VPD recruits and is interested in
consulting with U.S. police as to their experiences and
methods used to enhance professionalism of their
departments.
In conclusion, Sgt. Rai is a valuable contact for the
federal law enforcement agencies at the Vancouver U.S.
Consulate and is on track to becoming a senior manager
within the Vancouver Police Department. His sphere of
influence includes not only VPD and their policies
concerning cooperation with U.S. law enforcement on cross-
border counter-terrorism, drug smuggling, financial crimes,
human trafficking and other criminal investigations but
also, as a leader in the Indo-Canadian community, includes
influence within the second largest ethnic group in B.C. and
their understanding of U.S. goals and policies. The IVLP
would benefit Sgt. Rai because although he has an
exceptional amount of experience and education for a law
enforcement official of his age, he has had very little
exposure to U.S. culture and policies. Sgt. Rai has never
lived in the U.S. nor has he traveled there much. The IVLP
program would provide this exceptional young professional
with an understanding of U.S. culture and views and serve as
the cornerstone for the pursuit of common goals with him,
his profession and his community.
This nomination supports the Mission goal of combating
international crime.






END MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION:
NOM-OFF: ConGen Vancouver
SPEAKER?: No
NOTIFY-EMB: No
MEDIA?: No
HOME-STAY: No
HOME-HOSP?: Yes
E-I-TYPE: ELEO
NOMINEE-ID: 529
PERSON-ID: 408
BIRTH-CNTRY-ID: IN
CITIZ-CNTRY-ID: CA
RES-CNTRY-ID: CA
FIRST-LANG-ID: EN
E-I-TYPE-ID: E
NOM-POST-ID: 88501
NOM-FUNDING-CNTRY-ID: 322158
NOM-STATUS: N
DS2019-ACTION: 1
DS2019-SUBJECT: 22.9999
SPONS-FUNDS: 0
SPONS-AGENCY1:
USGOVT-AGENCY1:
US-AGENCY-AMT1: 0
USGOVT-AGENCY2:
US-AGENCY-AMT2: 0
INTL-ORG1:
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT1: 0
INTL-ORG2:
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT2: 0
VIS-GOVT-AMT: 0
COMMISSION: 0
OTHER-AMOUNT: 0
VIS-AMOUNT: 0
VIS-CAT: 5
END BIO:
END NOMINATION:
END FIXED-FORMAT TEXT:

DICKSON, CHARGE