City police chief says he is ‘very interested in staying’
After months of will-he-or-won’t-he speculation, Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht told reporters Thursday he is discussing a contract extension with the police commission and wants to stay on.
“I’m anticipating something any day now,” Knecht said at a police commission meeting Thursday. “What’s being discussed is maybe some tweaking of the contract and an extension.
“I’ve said I’m very interested in staying.”
Knecht, 61, became Edmonton’s 22nd police chief on June 7, 2011, replacing Mike Boyd. In 2013, the police commission extended his initial five-year contract until the end of October 2018.
Knecht told reporters in late 2017 he planned to decide whether to stand for another term early in the new year. In a year-end interview, he said he still enjoys the job and has ideas for improving policing in Edmonton — including beefing up response to white collar crime and cybercrime.
But Knecht acknowledged all chiefs have a best-before date.
On Thursday, he stressed discussions are ongoing between himself and the commission: “It could go either way still.”
Knecht began his policing career with the RCMP in 1977 at age 19, and served for a time as an undercover drug enforcement officer.
He was later named senior deputy commissioner of the RCMP in Ottawa, making him the most senior uniformed police officer on the national force. Before that, he was commanding officer of K Division, in charge of operations at 108 Alberta detachments.
Knecht has brought a level of stability to the Edmonton Police Service, guiding it through economic boom and bust. Since he started, Edmonton’s population has grown nearly 15 per cent to almost one million. There have been growing pains, including rising crime. Knecht took over in 2011, a year when Edmonton had a record 48 homicides.
Knecht has been credited with holding officers accountable while avoiding major scandals. Boyd, his predecessor, was a former Toronto Police Service interim chief brought in to stabilize the service after a succession of chiefs left on bad terms.
Knecht has been less than popular with police union leadership. In 2016, former Edmonton Police Association president Maurice Brodeur called for an independent investigation into the service’s leadership after 80 per cent of rank-and-file members who responded to an internal survey said they worked in a “culture of fear.” Just 30 per cent believed Knecht’s approach to discipline was fair and only 30 per cent rated his leadership as “good.”
Brodeur, who was removed as president after his statements about Knecht, said members weren’t happy with how Knecht was handling employee health and wellness and officer discipline.
Knecht listed creating an operational intelligence command centre, building up the cybercrime unit, and succession planning for the next chief as his priorities if he is signed for another term.