Winnipeggers could learn the name of the city’s next police chief in about a week.
On Friday, the chairman of the Winnipeg Police Board said two rounds of interviews for chief of the Winnipeg Police Service have wrapped up.
“The decision has been made. (Now) it’s just the process that’s undertaken… to confirm the decision … and then we can make our announcement within the next week or so,” said Coun. Markus Chambers.
Winnipeg Police Service headquarters (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)
The St. Norbert-Seine River councillor said some reference checks and final steps are still being completed but the hiring committee has selected a preferred candidate to recommend to city council for a ratification vote.
“Hopefully, we’ll have a decision… or recommendation (to city) council next week,” said Chambers.
If the process isn’t completed in time for council’s Dec. 12 meeting, the last scheduled one of the year, Chambers said he will ask for a special meeting prior to the holiday break.
“We definitely want to have somebody in place with an announcement before the end of the year,” he said.
The position has been open since Danny Smyth retired in early September. Art Stannard has been interim chief in recent months. Smyth officially announced his retirement date in December 2023.
When asked why it took this long to find a replacement, Chambers said the hiring committee needed time to “hire the right person for these times.”
Coun. Markus Chambers, chair of the Winnipeg police board (Nic Adam / Free Press files)
“We recognize, in terms of the consultation process that we undertook, that people are looking for transformational change and looking for a leader that works (well both) internally and externally. So, we were quite diligent in terms of the questions that we asked during the interview process… We want to be clear and precise on the person that we’re hiring,” said Chambers.
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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
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