New police chief unlikely before fall, deputies to act all summer
A new Ottawa police chief isn’t likely to be named until at least September.
Chief Charles Bordeleau’s contract ends and retirement begins on May 4. Bordeleau has served as police chief since 2012. He officially announced his retirement in January, ahead of the end of his contract. But with less than a month until that date, the police board is still in the very early stages of its selection process and is not looking to rush it.
“We want to choose a chief that everybody can get behind,” police board chair Coun. Diane Deans said in an interview. “We’re not sure how long that process will take yet.”
The board has already announced that it will seek both a new police chief and a new director general, the highest civilian position in the organization, concurrently in national competitions open to candidates from outside the Ottawa Police Service. Debra Frazer, the current director general is also retiring this year.
The board has also decided that it will hire a search and recruitment firm to assist in both competitions. At last week’s police board human resources committee meeting, the committee agreed on its recommendation of which firm to go with. That recommendation will now go to the full board on April 29 for approval, Deans said.
That firm will also help shape what the rest of the process looks like, including the job description – heavily anticipated among the pool of potential candidates which appears to include retired Ottawa police officers, those currently serving in this city and officers in other forces.
The board also wants to conduct public consultations to see what citizens want in a new chief and will consult with the police associations to hear what’s important to officers.
As far as who will stand at the helm of the force once Bordeleau retires in May and before a new chief is permanently named, each of the deputy chiefs – Steve Bell and Uday Jaswal – will serve as acting chief on a rotational basis for two months each. The two are the natural internal candidates to replace Bordeleau.
That will bring the board to September, when, Deans said, it will see where they are in the process before making any further interim plans.
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