POLICE NEED FOR SECRECY DEFIES LOGIC

This column should be focused on Saskatoon’s new police chief. Instead, it’s focused on the lack of information about the process used to select Troy Cooper to succeed Clive Weighill.

During a media event Wednesday, Cooper was introduced as the city’s new top cop by the city’s board of police commissioners.

Journalists asked Mayor Charlie Clark how many candidates applied. A slightly flustered Clark refused to answer, claiming the board had decided not to reveal details of the process to protect candidates’ privacy.

He also declined to answer how revealing the number of applicants would somehow compromise individuals’ privacy. Nobody could answer that question without provoking laughter.

Police board chair Darlene Brander also declined to answer.

It cast a bizarre negative light on a positive event. Since nobody could reasonably expect to conclude the identity of applicants by revealing their number, the obvious question becomes: What is the board hiding? A dearth of applicants?

Troy Cooper may one day prove to be Saskatoon’s greatest police chief, but right now residents are left with questions about the process used to choose him.

Were there two applicants or 200? An uncomfortable Brander eventually revealed there were fewer than 300 candidates.

By the way, there were 22 applicants with four shortlisted when Weighill was hired in 2006. If that number helps you divine the identities of the 22 candidates, you should probably be in a higher paying job.

Maybe Cooper’s first test will be to track down the other applicants with next to no information to gauge his investigative abilities.

The number of candidates is relevant because it informs us about the process. It’s an odd detail to keep secret when the board chose to reveal there were internal Saskatoon police candidates as well as hopefuls from across Canada.

The board that conducted the search for a new chief was dominated by politicians. In addition to Clark, who has spoken in favour of greater transparency during his dozen years on council, veteran councillors Darren Hill and Mairin Loewen also serve on the board, along with two unelected residents.

We expect veteran politicians to always opt for greater transparency, but the logic that suggests revealing the number of candidates will somehow compromise privacy is baffling to anyone.

The secrecy is likely more clumsy than sinister, but it raises uncomfortable questions about the competency of the board and its commitment to transparency.

The makeup of the board just changed, too. At the start of this month, two unelected residents were added to the board, reducing politicians on the board to a minority.

Coun. Randy Donauer raised apt concerns last year about changing the board since unelected board members are less accountable to the public.

It did not take long for accountability concerns to surface, even though it appears to have nothing to do with the reconfigured board.

In addition to withholding basic information on its search for a new police chief, the board also altered its meeting times.

For those attending police board meetings, it is often difficult to hear those speaking.

Surely a city hall with a $1-billion budget can solve such small technical issues, but you first need a police board that values transparency.