Meeting Hamilton’s new deputy police chief
A 35-year veteran of Toronto police, Frank Bergen is impressed with the co-operation and community within this city’s service
INSIDE THE OFFICE OF Hamilton’s new deputy police chief Frank Bergen you’ll find pictures and memorabilia, each with a story that’s sometimes funny, and sometimes a sober reminder of his policing values.
There’s the red phone, just like Commissioner Gordon had in “Batman.” Danny O’Day, a 1962 ventriloquist dummy was a birthday gift from his wife (it was later banished from their house after mysteriously falling to the middle of the floor one too many times). Historical photos of police from 1905 and 1913.
There is sign that reads “homeless warming grate” — an art student designed 75 similar signs around Toronto — to remind him that a police officer is never too busy to stop and see if someone’s OK. And a paged ripped out of a desk calendar in 2010 — the day he was passed over for a temporary promotion, only to end up being promoted four months later to superintendent.
What you won’t find is awards and accolades from his nearly 36 years policing.
“I don’t do that, that’s not who I am,” he says, sitting in his office.
Bergen was named deputy chief in April, after a nearly yearlong vacancy for the Hamilton Police Service (HPS). Along with Deputy Chief Dan Kinsella, who leads operations, and Anna Filice the first chief administrative officer who also started in April, Bergen reports directly to Chief Eric Girt.
Before coming to Hamilton, Bergen spent 35 years at Toronto police, rising through the ranks to superintendent. He says he loves working in divisional policing. But he was also fortunate to get promotions that often brought him back to police headquarters. There he worked on teams that studied education and community relations, led the community response unit overseeing the foot and bike patrol officers, in community mobilization, and the modernization of policing.
In Hamilton he’s overseeing field support, which includes emergency response, traffic, community mobilization and court services. Since starting he says he’s been impressed with the level of co-operation and community within Hamilton police.
“I stumbled into promotions and I stumbled into policing.”
Bergen grew up on a farm and went into the funeral business in Tillsonburg. He went to Humber College in Toronto and ended up meeting police officers during body removals.
On his honeymoon he and his wife moved to Hamilton, where they’ve lived since, raising two daughters. He has always been part of this community, including acting as chair of the King Street BIA.
At his swearing-in last April there were jokes about his short commute. But the new job is also about finding his place in his community.
During his first week on the job he came upon a small fire on his way driving in, on King Street East. He called it in and did a quick check of the building to make sure no one was trapped — it was vacant. The first police officer who arrived on scene? A woman whose family lives down the street from him and who grew up with his daughters.
The symmetry of that moment told him: “I’m where I need to be.”
Some things you should know about Hamilton’s newest deputy:
He’s always in full uniform, including complete use of force. He believes being in uniform normalizes policing.
He gets excited about things like staffing and business plans — his next big task is leading Hamilton police’s four-year plan, expected later this year.
He doesn’t like to sit still: “I’m on the road a lot, I can’t sit in an office too long.”
And, perhaps most importantly, he strongly believes in the importance of police taking the time to listen and help.
He knows there are staffing challenges. A recent internal Hamilton police survey showed just 15 per cent of officers felt there were enough employees to staff a shift. Front-line officers said they spend most of their time reacting to calls, with only five to seven per cent spent on proactive policing, depending on division.
But Bergen said he doesn’t think those are competing interests. Instead he thinks it’s about how police handle themselves on calls, showing they care.
“It’s not all about giving tickets,” he says. “I don’t measure (an officer’s success) on output, I measure success on outcome.”
Bergen’s role is to lead support, which includes everything the ACTION (Addressing Crime Trends in Our Neighbourhoods) unit, to the tactical officers in the Emergency Response Unit.
Policing can’t just be about constantly reacting, it needs to “look at the right resource going to the right call at the right time,” he says.
Bergen believes Hamilton is already leading the way, including with the Social Navigator, which helps vulnerable people repeatedly being stopped by police; and the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team, which pairs a specially-trained officer with a mental health worker to respond to calls for people in crisis. Hamilton also recently added forensic special constables — civilian specialists — and there is online reporting for sexual assault.
It was a very busy initiation in the first few weeks after starting April 30, with many community events.
Each time he’s represented Hamilton police, he says he keeps asking to join the cause of charity and be the HPS representative. He wants to be a visible presence in Hamilton.
“That will be my commitment to have a true presence within many facets of the city.”