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 academic colleagues and students, theory and practice come together here.

Communications & Government Relations

For more than three decades, Dr. José Luís (Joe) Couto has met the government relations and communication needs of clients by resisting the urge to think inside the box. He specializes in equipping clients to cut through the “White Noise” that surrounds so much of government and media today. He has 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, he helps 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, Joe changes into his alter-ego as a Professor at the University of Guelph-Humber and Royal Roads University.

He is 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.

His 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. Finally, my doctoral research included a White Paper published in 2023, Born to be Blue: the Constriction of Canadian Police Officers’ Identity, made available to police leaders across Canada thanks to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

  • Read the ground breaking 2014 study on LGBTQIA2S+ 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 the 2014 study

  • Read this 2017 article in BarrieToday on the 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 the 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 Spanish-language version of the above article published in Entre policías: violencia institucional y deseo homosocial

  • Read this article published by the University of Guelph-Humber 0n the LGBTQIA2S+ cops research

  • Read this article in the Toronto Star where Dr. Couto discusses the importance of identity as police officer for LGBTQIA2S+ cops

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

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

  • Read the December 2024 Editorial in the Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being entitle Identity and the More Things Change. (Couto, J. L. (Joe). (2024). Identity and the more things change. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 9(4), 174–175. https://doi.org/10.35502/jcswb.442).

  • Read the article on Dr. Couto’s doctoral work on police officers’ identity construction in the Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being: Couto, J. L. (2025). Police culture, discourse, and the construction of Canadian police officers’ identity. Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 10 (1), 4 –10. h t t p s://d o i.o rg /10.355 02/j c s w b. 412.

  • Read the article Navigating the Challenges & Opportunities of Police Recruitment with Emma Sweeney in the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police’s HQ Magazine (Winter 2024/25 Issue). They discuss why recruitment of new police officers matter - for the future of police services, their ability to serve communities, and support the work of police professionals in challenging times.

Joe Couto

Dr. J.L. Couto

About

Dr. Couto is 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, he serves as Director of Government Relations and Communications for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.  Prior to serving with OACP, He was Senior Consultant with Enterprise Canada Consultants Inc., one of Ontario’s leading government relations and communications firms, where he developed a thorough expertise in a number of public policy areas including municipal affairs, housing, energy, and taxation and fiscal policies. He also has an intimate understanding of the needs of private sector organizations based on his experience in strategic and public policy development with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Fair Rental Policy Organization of Ontario.

His 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.

He is proud to teach at the University of Guelph-Humber and Royal Roads University and on the OACP’s Media Relations Officers Course and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Course. Dr. Couto authored a major White Paper for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Born to be Blue? The Construction 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 his 2018 project entitled, Female. Gay. Cop: The Intersectionality of Gender and Sexual Orientation in Police Culture.

Dr. Couto holds 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.

In 2013, Dr. Couto was so honoured with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for contributions to policing and public safety in Canada.

 Media Relations & Communications Training

In today’s ever changing media and communications environment, effective communications is critical to professional and organizational success. That’s why Dr. Couto partners with Cherri Greeno to deliver media relations and communications training that’s hands-on, practical, and effective. They design training that’s specific to clients, bringing their expertise to equipping you and your team with the tools for success, and they do it in a fast-paced, fun environment that makes you feel confident and inspired.

Cherri is an experienced journalist with a demonstrated history of working in print media, corporate communications, and policing. She has served as Chair of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police’s Ontario Media Relations Officers Network, is a two-time National Newspaper Award winner. and the 2020 recipient of the Ontario Catherine Martin Award for Excellence in Media Relations. She is an expert in copywriting, editing, media relations, and social media and holds a Master of Arts in Journalism.

.Cherri is the author of Mismatched Martha, a wonderful best selling children’s book.

For more information on our media relations and communications training, contact them at tourniquet1970@gmail.com.

Past Clients

Shepherd Village

The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police

The Ontario Association of Police Service Boards

Greater Sudbury Police Service

Peterborough-Lakefield Community Police Service

Sault Ste. Marie Police Service

Humber Polytechnic

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 our world today.

 

Contact Joe & Cherri

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

 

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