International Police Facility dog Association
About us
Watch Our Short Film: How We Got Started
Our vision
Advancing Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice facility dog teams through best practice, education, and support.
Our Mission
It is the Mission of the International Police Facility Dog Association to provide law enforcement-sponsored facility dog handlers a forum to share wisdom, experiences, encouragement, and best practices. We provide resources to those interested in incorporating facility dogs in police work to assist their community in healthful mitigation of crisis or traumatic experiences and directly supporting victims of crimes in their journey through the criminal justice system and initiating communications between law enforcement and their community.
our Board Members
Lameka Bell
President
Lameka and her partner Scottie, a Golden Retriever/Lab mix, have been working together since they completed Canine Companions for Independence team training in May 2012. They were the first Police Facility K-9 team in all of Los Angeles County.
The duo is part of the Hawthorne Police Department and their day-to-day mission is breaking down barriers between community members and the police. They accomplish this mission through community oriented policing programs, such as Coffee with a Cop, Power Project (a girls mentoring hockey program), victims advocacy through the Courthouse Dog Foundation, the YWCA’s Sexual Assault Response Team, and she is currently launching the International Police Facility Dog Association.
Since their partnership, Lameka and Scottie have had a huge impact upon the law enforcement community. They have assisted other agencies and their families during times of tragedy and loss, as well as, comforted patients during numerous hospital visits. They have inspired thousands of children through their sports, safety, and literacy programs.
Lameka’s pioneering work with Scottie has been used as a model for successful police facility dog programs around the world.
Tiffini Arichie
Vice President
I have been working patrol for 4 years. I have had Hilani for almost 1 year. I use Hilani on campus for social events, traumatic events, presentations meeting, regular patrol, interviews and court. Hilani has helped the department break down barriers, and build positive relationships between the students, faculty on the university campus and community members within our city.
Robbie Williams
Secretary & Grievance Chairperson
Robbie Williams served 25-years with the Hawthorne Police Department and is currently the Chief of Public Safety at Loyola Marymount University. His past assignments and roles include; Community Affairs Bureau Commander, Special Victims Investigation Supervisor, and Robbery & Homicide Investigation.
Before his career in Law Enforcement, Robbie worked as a Mental Health Social Worker at Portals Mental Health Rehabilitation Center in Los Angeles, California. The center featured Transitional Residential Services, a Day Treatment Program, and Vocational Training Services. In addition, Robbie taught group psycho-social education focused on independent living skills, substance abuse, and anger management skills for individuals that suffered from a Dual Diagnosis of substance addiction and severe to mild mental health disorders. Robbie remains active at addressing national issues as a community dialogue facilitator and a California POST-certified trainer in managing mental health crises; De-escalation; Implicit Bias, and Procedural Justice. In addition to the responsibilities mentioned above in previous positions, Robbie co-created Coffee with A Cop Inc., one of the largest and fastest-growing community policing dialogue programs in the nation.
Robbie has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice; a Master of Science Degree in Counseling with a Specialization in Marriage Family & Child Therapy. Robbie is also a graduate of California's Commission on Police Officer Standards & Training (P.O.S.T.) Executive Development School, Police Management School, and completed U.S.C.'s Sol Price School of Public Policy Executive Leadership Program.
Robbie is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and is a certified professional life coach. Robbie teaches Sexual Assault Prevention and other crime prevention workshops and facilitates police -Teen Dialog workshops to bridge relationships between t1::ens and police officers. Robbie is an experienced adjunct instructor who has taught Community Orientated Policing and Introduction to Criminal Justice at the community college level. Robbie is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement (N.O.B.L.E.) and is a 2015 Homer Garret Community Service Award recipient.
Joyce Walker
Treasurer
Joycelyn (Joyce) Walker lives in Los Angeles, CA and has been an employee of the Hawthorne Police Department for over eighteen years, working a variety of assignments, with her most recent assignment placing her in the detective bureau’s special operations unit. Joyce has been an active board member and treasurer of HPD’s community relations bureau 501(c) (3) for over ten years. As of 2018, she happily accepted a position on the board of the International Police Facility Dog Association (IPFDA). Joyce has a passion for people and service, which has aided her greatly and successfully throughout her career, and hopes to focus that passion on establishing IPFDA as an organization that is committed to creating and maintaining professional standards among police facility dogs, their handlers and agencies, and the people we aim to serve.
Adam Roulston
Membership Chairperson
Adam has worked for the Corona Police Department since 1995. During his tenure, he has held positions in Community Relations, Honor Guard, Personnel & Training, and SWAT. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in workforce education from Cal State Long Beach. Adam was first introduced to the use of Facility Dogs in police work through the Hawthorne Police Department’s program in 2015. Seeing the benefit, he and his wife, Erin, applied with Canine Companions in 2016. As a result, they were placed with K9 Raider in 2017.