Hamilton police board set to fill two key positions after lengthy delay,
Only one Hamilton officer applied; Ferguson pleased with calibre of candidates
The Hamilton police board is finally closing in on hiring a new deputy police chief.
Almost a year after former deputy chief Ken Weatherill sprung his surprise resignation on the service, the board is interviewing potential replacements.
Board chair Lloyd Ferguson says interviews with six shortlisted candidates will begin this week. He hopes to announce the winner by the end of February.
Ferguson says he’s “very pleased” with the calibre of the applicants but declines to say how many are from Hamilton police.
According to a reliable Spectator source, however, only one internal candidate applied for the job, meaning there was far more interest from outside police services.
What that says about Hamilton service’s esprit de corps is open for debate. But if nothing else it suggests board members made the right decision to look externally as well as internally.
Clearly they can learn from past mistakes. In 2016, they only advertised internally and only one serving officer, superintendent Dan Kinsella, stepped forward to fill the then vacant deputy position.
Hamilton traditionally has two deputies who report to the chief. One is responsible for investigations and community policing. That’s now Kinsella.
The other is in charge of field support, which includes administration and corporate services such as communications, human resources and professional development. That’s the position vacated by Weatherill last March.
Both those roles, however, may change somewhat under a new organizational chart drafted by Chief Eric Girt in response to the board’s decision to also hire a civilian chief administration officer to take on finance and some administration duties.
According to Ferguson, the board wrapped up its interview for the CAO job last week and is now evaluating the six shortlisted candidates. He expects to announce the board’s choice around the same time as the new deputy chief.
Ferguson attributes both hiring delays to a combo platter of selecting a recruiting firm, a missed meeting, and a desire by some board members to conduct a wider search. He says the recruiters eventually came with a long list of candidates, which the board has been winnowing since October.
Ferguson doesn’t believe the delay has been a “negative thing.” In the absence of a second deputy, he notes that Girt is rotating superintendents into the role. He says that gives the stand-ins a taste of whether they like the job and it gives police brass and board members an opportunity to see them in action.
“You get a good feel for their ambitions and how they think,” said Ferguson.
Whether the delay is good, bad or indifferent, wrapping up the hires will let board members get on with other issues in what looks to be a pretty busy schedule for 2018.
The board has already approved a $161.2 million police operating budget for the year, though city council has yet to give its formal blessing. And last month Ferguson met with Justice Michael Tulloch to discuss new legislation on carding and street checks. Tulloch is conducting an independent review of the regulations and will make recommendations to the province by the end of the year.
Looking ahead, Ferguson expects to see ground broken at the end of February for the new $24-million investigation and forensic building downtown. Beyond that, he says the board will also be tackling contract negotiations with the Hamilton Police Association and the Senior Officers Association, the growing drug crisis and safe injection sites, the spike in shootings (40 in 2017), and preparing for a three day confab in June to hammer out the next threeyear business plan for police.
Meanwhile, of course, the board is waiting for the province to appoint a new board member to replace Stan Tick, who tendered his resignation last month.
All in all, it’s a full agenda which is bound to swell as issues arise and events develop throughout the year. Hopefully, those won’t include the internal infighting and controversial comments that dogged the board last year.