Tourniquet communications

Welcome to Tourniquet Communications, where communications and academics meet. Whether working one-on-one with clients in partnership with associates or engaging with my academic colleagues and students, theory and practice come together here.

Communications & GR

For more than three decades, I have met the government relations and communication needs of clients by resisting the urge to think inside the box.  I specialize in equipping clients to cut through the “White Noise” that surrounds so much of government and media today. Throughout my career, I have worked with a wide range of clients to address issues in the justice sector, social services, education, municipal affairs, housing, energy, and fiscal policies.  On the media side, I have helped clients avoid or deal with a crisis and enhance their “brand”.

Research

When not having fun dealing with elected officials, civil servants, and members of the media, I change into his alter-ego as a Professor at the University of Guelph-Humber, Humber College, and Royal Roads University.

I am the author of Covered in Blue: Police Culture and LGBT Police Officers in the Province of Ontario, a landmark academic study of gay police officers in the Province of Ontario, and Lobbying vs. Advocacy: Police Leaders as Advocates for Their Police Services and Their Communities.

My subsequent academic project published in May 2018 is entitled, Female. Gay. Cop: The Intersectionality of Gender and Sexual Orientation in Police Culture and was funded by the University of Guelph-Humber.

  • Read the ground breaking 2014 study on LGBTQ cops

  • Read the 2018 research on gay female cops

  • Read this article on study in the Toronto Star: "Lives of LGBT Cops Revealed in New Study" on my 2014 study

  • Read this 2017 article in BarrieToday on my 2018 study

  • Read this June 24, 2018 op-ed in the Toronto Star

  • Read this article in the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police’s (CACP) Police Chief Magazine (English & French versions available)

  • Watch this webcast video courtesy of the Canadian Society of Evidence-Based Policing where he is interviewed on the subject of “Diversity and Police Culture”.

  • Read his article in the Journal of Community Safety and Well-being Hearing entitle Hearing Their Voices and Counting Them In— The Place of LGBTQ Police Officers in Police Culture

  • Read this article published by the University of Guelph-Humber 0n my LGBTQ cops research

  • Read this article in the Toronto Star where I discuss the importance of identity as police officer for LGBTQ cops.

  • Read this article published by the University of Guelph-Humber on how I utilize police and other justice leaders to help my students consider important issues in law enforcement as part of my Advanced Issues in Community Policing course.

  • Read my White Paper for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Born to be Blue: The Construction of Canadian Police Officers’ Identity.

Joe Couto

Joe Couto

About

I am a veteran public policy and communications professional who brings 35 years of proven experience to meeting the government relations and communication needs of Ontario’s police leaders.

Currently, I serve as Director of Government Relations and Communications for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.  Prior to serving with OACP, I was Senior Consultant with Enterprise Canada Consultants Inc., one of Ontario’s leading government relations and communications firms, where I developed a thorough expertise in a number of public policy areas including municipal affairs, housing, energy, and taxation and fiscal policies.

Prior to joining Enterprise Canada, I was Communications Manager for a national non-profit organization where I was responsible for media and public relations, development of the organization’s social media strategy, and event production/management. 

I also have an intimate understanding of the needs of private sector organizations based on my experience in strategic and public policy development with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Fair Rental Policy Organization of Ontario.

My extensive government relations experience includes serving on the staff of an Ontario MPP and managing the South Korean government’s public, government, and media relations initiatives in Toronto during the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

I am proud to be a Part-time Professor at the University of Guelph-Humber, Humber College, and Royal Roads University. I am also a regular lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business Management’s Police Leadership Program and the OACP’s Media Relations Officers Course at the Ontario Police College. I authored a major White Paper for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Born to be Blue? The Cionstruction of Canadian Police Officers’ Identity, as part of my doctoral research, Covered in Blue: Police Culture and LGBT Police Officers in the Province of Ontario, a landmark academic study of gay police officers in the Province of Ontario, and Lobbying vs. Advocacy: Police Leaders as Advocates for Their Police Services and Their Communities.

The University of Guelph-Humber provided funding support for my 2018 project entitled, Female. Gay. Cop: The Intersectionality of Gender and Sexual Orientation in Police Culture.

I am a native of Brazil and hold a Doctor of Social Sciences and a Master of Arts in Professional Communications degree from Royal Roads University, a Bachelor of Journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University, and a Certificate of Public Relations from the Canadian Public Relations Society.

I am a member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Police Educators, and the Association of Black Law Enforcers.

In 2013, I was so honoured with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for contributions to policing and public safety in Canada. It was a proud moment for my parents. I am glad they lived to see it a boy from Brazil honoured in his adopted country..

Clients and Organizations

Shepherd Village

The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police

The Ontario Association of Police Services Boards

Greater Sudbury Police Service

Peterborough-Lakefield Community Police Service

Sault Ste. Marie Police Service

Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning

Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario

Ontario Ministry of Energy

World Relief Canada

Ontario Chamber of Commerce

Fair Rental Policy Organization of Ontario

Service-area specialization

·         Crisis communications

·         Public affairs

·         Media relations

·         Stakeholder engagement

·         Event management

Subject-matter specialization

Justice issues

Equity, diversity, and inclusion

Police Culture

LGBTQ Police Officers

Reputation and brand management

Resources

I love sharing resources that help and inspire people. I especially love sharing the work of my students. Watch this space for future resources.

Check out this amazing magazine entitled The Communicator put together by three of my grad students at Royal Roads University. It explores “communication in the Age of Trump” and considers “How the ‘Other’ Became Public Enemy #1”.. Stephanie, Margo, and Dominika are brilliant women who thinking critically and fairly about important issues impacting out world today. If you’d like to contact them, please do so through me.

 

Contact ME

Please use the form below if you wish to discuss any communications needs or to inquire about my academic work.

 

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