Hamilton police announce new brass
The Hamilton Police Service has a new deputy chief and its first ever chief administrative officer.
Frank Bergen, a current staff superintendent and 35-year member with Toronto police, is the new deputy. Anna Filice is leaving her role as director of HR systems and operations with the City of Hamilton to become the Hamilton police CAO.
Both were announced during a ceremony in the courtyard of Hamilton police headquarters on King William Street Thursday morning, before a crowd that included senior command and their families.
Filice is a Hamilton native and Bergen has lived in Hamilton for 29 years.
“This is an exciting day for our service and concludes a long search, probably longer than it should have been, but we needed to get this right,” said Hamilton Police Services Board Chair Coun. Lloyd Ferguson, who presented Bergen with his new badge.
Bergen fills a vacancy left when Ken Weatherill announced his retirement in March to become a deputy chief in Barrie.
The new deputy will oversee field support, which includes emergency response and traffic units. The newly created CAO position will oversee corporate services. Bergen, Filice and existing Deputy Chief Dan Kinsella, who is responsible for community policing, answer to Chief Eric Girt.
“This new position as CAO for the Hamilton Police Service affords me the opportunity to continue to serve the community I love in a role that I’m passionate about,” Filice said.
Bergen, who has worked in a number of units at Toronto police including in community mobilization, court services and strategy management, said he met with command Thursday morning before the announcement.
Despite being an outsider, he said he feels “very comfortable.”
“I’m very comfortable that I’m coming to a family that is certainly speaking the same language, has the same energy and has the same vision for this city that I certainly have been held to in my own career,” he said. “Crime prevention, law enforcement, assisting victims, public order, emergent response — all the things that make sure we understand our core function.”
Bergen said he applied for the job in November and has been spending the hiring process going through board reports, business plans and other Hamilton police documents.
“I am so happy to see that Hamilton is leading the way in this province,” he said, referencing legislation to modernize policing in Ontario.