Kennebecasis Regional Police Force seeks new chief, again

The Kennebecasis Regional Police Force is looking for a new chiefagain, afterless than seven months.

Chief Steve Palmer, who was promoted from deputy chief in Novemberwhen former chief Stephen McIntyre retired amid an investigation into an internal complaint against a suspended officer,is now planning to retirein March 2018, after he turns 60.

The investigation, which started last summer, is ongoing and the officer in question remains suspended with pay. No information about the officer or the nature of the complaint has been released.

• Kennebecasis Regional Police Force suspends officer

Palmer declined to comment, referring inquiries to theKennebecasis Regional Joint Board of Police Commissioners.

Board chairman Matt Alexander referredinquiries in turn to the New Brunswick Police Commission, and commission executive director Steve Robergealso declined to comment, saying the commission never confirms or denies whether an investigation is ongoing unless it reaches the arbitration stage.

'Ready to go'

Palmer, who has been with the force since 1983,said he originallyplanned to retire when he turned55, but "wasn't quite ready" at the time.

"I'm definitely ready to go now," said the married father of three and grandfather of two. "Sixty is enough. That'll be 38 years of policing. That's a long time."

The thing that continues to amaze me is the resiliency of the police officers and their ability to bounce back and their ability to fight through the challenges that they face each and every day.- Steve Palmer, chief

It's achallenging profession "that's ever-evolving," said Palmer, citing the jump in complex internet-based crimes, increasing demands of court and pending legalization of marijuana as examples.

"You certainly have to be on your game every day to keep up," he said.Some days can feel like manoeuvring through "a minefield."

But it's also extremely rewarding, he said.

"Nothing makes me prouder of these people, or nothing made myself prouder than when you solve a major crime and you've really helped someone. I am going tomiss that."

High level of interest expected

The KennebecasisRegional Joint Board of Police Commissionershas already posted the chief's position on the force's website and will be advertising in national publicationsin the coming weeks.

The board wanted to start the process "well in advance" of Palmer's retirement, seeking both internal and external candidates from across Canada, said Alexander,who is also the deputy mayor ofRothesay.

He anticipates numerous applicants.

"We thought about getting a headhunter involved, but we've been told the KennebecasisRegional Police Force is one of the best police forces in Canada, as proven by the statistics that we have [such as crime rates and clearance rates], that we're going to have a lot of people want to apply for this job," he said.

The board will be accepting applications until Aug. 4 and hopes to have someone selected by the fall, he said.

The successful candidate willwork alongside Palmer until his last day, March 2, to "get the lay of the land," in Rothesay and Quispamsis, thefourth largest jurisdiction in the province.

'Attractive place to work'

Palmerstarted as a constable with the RCMP in Newfoundland before joining the KennebecasisRegional Police Force. He served 18 years as thedeputy chief and calls it"an attractive place to work at any levelconstable to chief."

The police board, towns and citizens are all "very supportive," he said, enabling the force to be on the leading edge of costly technology, such as officer body cameras and carbine rifles, despite tight budgets.

The force also has "a really good roster of police officers who do a really good job," said Palmer.

"They've keptthe crime rate down, our cost per capita is very low compared to most police forces and our clearance is higher than most."

Palmer attributes much of the force's success to its "broken windows" approach to policing, where "you take care of the small things before they become big."

"That's why we answer virtually every call we receive and sometimes we do some things that people will say, 'That's not necessarily police work,'but sometimes if we don't do those things, it becomes police work later," he said.

It's "intervention-based policing," such as counselling a child shoplifter.

"If we see things are starting to go a little sideways, then we intervene before it becomes a criminal matter."

Palmer said he's going to miss being part of that team, "part of a group of people that do absolutely outstanding work against all odds."