Input to Police Chief selection

The city of Kingston is about to hire a new police chief, a process that is decided through a group called the police services board, a board made up of half dozen or so selected prominent citizens headed up by the mayor. For the most part this event would not have "blipped" on "my radar" except for perhaps a casual read in the front page of the Kingston Whig Standard, the local paper. However, early last week, with the scantiest of lead time, the Kingston Police Services Board announced they were open to input from the community--consisting of a 5-minute presentation to the Board. The idea was that they would potentially use this input in the interview process of the candidates applying for the city police chief position. That's when a couple of friends thought that I should make a presentation. No so, says I but they were more persuasive than my not wanting to do so. Thus, I on Wednesday, 20 August, 2008, I was standing at the microphone with my 5-minute presentation talking to the Kingston Police Services Board.

The following is a small highlight of my input that made Page 3 of the local paper the next day (Thursday, August 21, 2008). While these are not "exactly" my words, the articles at least makes mention of the Kingston Aboriginal Justice Strategy, (more in later Blogs) an endeavour that a small group of us in the city are attempting to move forward and the fact that policing and police forces need very much to build relationships--Kingston is not excluded :

Public has its say on next police chief Board sought input on Closs's successor Posted 2 days ago It may have been the shortest public meeting in Kingston's recent history. With a turnout of just a handful of citizens, last night's meeting to gather input from residents about what attributes the city's next police chief should have lasted barely 25 minutes. "I was hoping there would be more people here and more social agencies represented," said Kingston Police Services Board chairwoman Carol Allison-Burra. Though she had expected more residents to attend, she said the comments made at the meeting about the importance of community policing and restorative justice are issues the board will keep at the forefront of their minds during the hiring process. The Police Services Board is hoping to hire the city's 15th police chief by the end of September to replace Bill Closs, who retired in the spring. Last night's meeting, held at Kingston Police headquarters, gave residents a rare opportunity to voice their opinion about the attributes the new chief should possess. Each presenter was given five minutes to describe their wish list for a new chief. The Police Services Board had planned to use the content of the presentations to formulate questions during the final interview stage for a new chief, which is expected to take place in the next six weeks. "We wanted to hear from everyday people about their thoughts," said Allison-Burra. Just three citizens made presentations at the meeting. The event was facilitated by two representatives from Renaud Foster, the recruiting agency the Police Services Board hired in June to search for a new chief. Allison-Burra said the Police Services Board went to the public for input because of the high profile of the position. "I think [hiring a new police chief] is one of the most important decisions we make as a board," she said. She also said the board is looking for a chief who will be adept in leading the community during times of change "with the confidence and trust of the people." Similar public consultations have been held in other cities during searches for new chiefs of police. Allison-Burra said one internal candidate has been identified for the chief's position and there may be more. Kingston Mayor Harvey Rosen and several other members of the Police Services Board attended last night's meeting. When asked on his way into the meeting about the value of going to the public for input, Rosen replied simply, "It can't hurt." Ed Wissian of the Kingston Aboriginal Justice Strategy was thrilled to be part of the process. "It's wonderful for an aboriginal person to be involved in this kind of process and I'm going to take this opportunity - I think it's historic," he told last night's meeting. Wissian spoke about the need for relationship building between police services such as Kingston Police and native communities. Dave Stewart of Resolve Kingston, a restorative justice group, spoke of the need to "reintegrate rather than alienate offenders." He also emphasized the need for more community policing and more community involvement by local officers. He suggested Kingston Police provide incentives to its officers to join non-profit boards to give them added exposure in the community. Stewart suggested that the new chief be "confident enough to be collaborative" and to listen to his/her officers and the public. Other comments made at last night's meeting included the need for a police chief that was more visible on the streets and in the coffee shops of Kingston.

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