The Ottawa police is one city service that, it seems, individuals cannot ignore.
Whether it is the mere presence of a patrol car on city streets, uniformed officers on foot downtown, or detectives investigating crime, the Ottawa Police Service has a tremendous impact on us all. Twenty-four hours a day, almost two thousand women and men of this organization provide security to our community and have been for over a hundred years. With an annual gross operating budget of approximately $270 million, the service is a large organization and a significant budget item at city hall.
With the departure of Chief Vern White, it falls to the Ottawa Police Services Board to decide on his successor. The Police Services Board is responsible for hiring and monitoring the performance of the chief and (in consultation with the chief) for setting the overall objectives and priorities for the provision of policing services in the city.
Although the Board provides general direction to the chief, it exists outside the normal hierarchy of the Ottawa Police Service and does not direct the regular day-to-day operations of individual police officers. The police chief retains a great deal of autonomy in setting the direction of the force and how individual members force (from recently hired constables to deputy chiefs) conduct their day-to-day activities.
As a visible public official, the chief has the opportunity to effect change and influence the culture of not just the service but also the wider Ottawa community.
Recently, various members of the community have been discussing the departure of Chief White and have asked me about the process involved in appointing his successor. It is great to see such public interest in the appointment of the new chief. After all, provincial legislation stresses the need for co-operation between providers of police services and communities, as well as the importance of police services in Ontario being representative of the communities they serve and sensitive to the character of Ontario society.
Average citizens are encouraged to give members of the Ottawa Police Services Board suggestions on how they believe that the principles from the Police Services Act can be best achieved.
If members of the Ottawa community are interested in making submissions regarding the appointment of the new chief, or other matters pertaining to the overarching objectives and priorities of the Ottawa Police Service, they are free to contact Wendy Fedec, executive director of the Ottawa Police Services Board at 613-580-2424 extension 21618, or her assistant, Lynne Kennedy, at extension 21960. Meetings of the board are public. The next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. in the Champlain Room at city hall. The public is welcome to attend; however, parties wishing to make submissions should contact the Board in advance.
Some members of the Centretown community have asked for my opinion on what qualities I think are important for those who aspire for leadership within Ottawa’s policing community.
My answer is simple. From my own humble experiences I feel that Ottawa Police Service needs leaders who are highly organized and inspirational communicators, capable of humility, building bridges with the community, and managing a massive organization which is recovering from adverse publicity in 2011. A great leader is a great role model, who holds him or herself to a high standard and expects an equally high standard of behaviour from those under their command.
We need someone that understands that Sir Robert Peel’s Nine Principles of Modern Policing was never meant to be downloaded to community officers, which implies a very narrow and limited use of the original recommendations created over 200 years ago. If attitude reflects leadership, which I have always believed it does, then the selection of our next chief is something we all need to pay a little more attention to.