New Chief Joins Saint John Police Force thewave.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thewave.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Posted: May 14, 2021 12:47 PM AT | Last Updated: May 14
Robert M. Bruce will begin his role as Saint John Police Force chief on July 1.(Submitted by Saint John Board of Police Commissioners)
Saint John police Chief Stephan Drolet. (Image: Submitted/Saint John Police Force)
Saint John is seeking a “collaborative and visionary policing professional” to lead the city’s police force.
With the current chief’s resignation about a week away, the city
The successful candidate must have a track record of “effectively leading change, solving problems creatively and mentoring future leaders,” according to the job posting.
“You will drive continuous improvement to optimize police services to meet the changing needs of the community,” it said.
“You will work closely with the Board and the senior management team to lead the organization to be innovative; develop the relationship between Board and staff; and enhance collaboration to build a climate of transformation.”
The Saint John Police Force headquarters, located at One Peel Plaza. (Staff photo)
A cyberattack which shut down Saint John’s IT services also impacted the city’s police force.
Many of the computer systems used by officers were taken offline after the attack in November.
Chief Stephan Drolet said it created more work for frontline officers in order to collect file information.
“We had to come up with a workaround because we didn’t have computers. We went to a pen-and-paper police function,” Drolet told the Saint John Police Commission on Tuesday.
Drolet said a file which usually takes an hour was taking around two or three hours for an officer to complete.
The Saint John Police Force headquarters. (Staff photo)
A new integrated mobile crisis response team in Saint John responded to an average of eight calls per day during its first few weeks in operation.
Chief Stephan Drolet of the Saint John Police Force provided an update on the pilot project during Tuesday’s meeting of the Saint John Police Commission.
Drolet said the team responded to more than 870 calls between its launch date on Oct. 19 and the end of January.
“I knew there was a need for it, [former] chief [Bruce] Connell knew there was a need for it, Minister [Dorothy] Shephard knew there was a need for it,” Drolet told the commission. “I knew that when there’s a need and you offer the service, calls are going to start coming in.”