Next police chief likely to come from within, Internal search makes sense: board chair

Posted Jan 26, 2012 By Laura Mueller

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Vern White

Vern White

EMC news - Ottawa is set to promote its first police chief from within its ranks in a dozen years, according to the head of the police services board.

The board was set to meet on Monday, but board member Mayor Jim Watson and the rest of the police services board members appear to agree that limiting the search for Vern White's replacement to members of the Ottawa Police Service is the best plan, according to the board chairman, Coun. Eli Eli-Chantiry.

"They, like me, feel the service is more than ever able to pick the chief within the organization," El-Chantiry said.

The position of chief will be vacated on Feb. 20, when White will take a seat in the Senate.

A national search would take around three months, El-Chantiry said, and that would require the appointment of an interim chief who would not be a candidate for the chief's position.

The last chief to have been promoted from within the force's ranks was Brian Ford, who served as chief from 1993 to 2000.

The police services board was set vote on Jan. 23 on whether to limit the search to the two deputy chiefs, to all internal candidates, or whether to look outside the force. The board could also choose to leave all those options open, El-Chantiry said.

BEST CANDIDATE

But his conversations with board members have convinced El-Chantiry that the succession planning the board directed White to undertake has paid off, and the best candidate will be an officer from the force.

"We have good candidates. We have more than half a dozen people fully bilingual, fully educated," El-Chantiry said. "We get to choose, not just from one or two, but we have quite a few of them.

"I think the board is in a good position to say, 'The time has come,'" he said.

Deputy chiefs Charles Bordeleau and Gilles Larochelle will likely be considered strong candidates for the leadership role, White said. But the chief has said he can also think of two superintendants who could step up and take over as chief, although he wouldn't name them.

There are no legal requirements to publically post the position - final authority rests with the police board to choose whoever the members prefer, El-Chantiry said.

laura.mueller@metroland.com