The London Police Board is only weeks away from selecting a new chief and deputy chief for the police force. Newly appointed Chair of the Board Ali Chahbar says the application period is now closed.
“The board has come together, we’ve taken an initial look at those applications and we’re currently in the process of scheduling first round interviews for a perspective chief and deputy chief. That’s happening actually over the next few weeks. We’re not talking months here; things are happening in the next few weeks.”
With the current chief Steve Williams, on his way out within the next few weeks, the question remains if the replacement will be selected before his retirement.
“The short answer is in the next few weeks we hope to be in a position to make an announcement as to our new chief and new deputy chief.”
Ali Chahbar (Submitted Photo)
Chahbar will also be looking at the issues of homelessness and rising violent crime rates as he steps into the new role.
Regarding homelessness Chahbar believes in a team effort with many other players in the city.
“It’s a multifaceted approach right, so you need external stakeholders, internal governmental stakeholders, whether its municipal government, provincial government, healthcare, police, I think they have to take a collaborative approach in terms of how we address the issue of homelessness.”
Violent crime has been rising in London for the last few years. Chahbar says this trend is happening across the country, with no consensus on the cause. He says one potential solution being pursued is bail reform.
“There’s been an active call from police boards, police associations, police chiefs right across the entire country petitioning the federal government to say, hey this is one thing that we can do. This is one step that we can take towards addressing the incidents of repeat violent crime in our communities.”
Chahbar also says that this year the police board is creating and getting approval for the multi-year budget.
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