The city of Kingston is indeed a fabulous place—to live, to work, and
to play—and I am looking forward to working with the many policing
partners already in place and with new ones—both organizations and
individuals yet to be identified—in order to make our force the very
best it can possibly be.
The Kingston Police force is one so rich in history, so rich in success,
and so rich as an organization because of the many dedicated individuals,
both uniformed and civilian members, who have served throughout our
history, and those who continue to serve today.
It is a privilege to be the Chief of Police of one of the oldest
police forces in all of Canada.
Beginning my tenure here as Chief of Police I am inheriting a police
force that is rich in tradition and that is staffed at all levels by
extremely capable and professional staff.
I look forward to meeting and getting to know all members of our
organization and to working with all staff to make the Kingston Police
force the very best it can possibly be.
I am also most fortunate to be moving into an almost brand new and
state-of-the-art policing facility that has been provided to us by
Municipal Council and which clearly illustrates the support for our force
at the local government level. Thank
you for that support.
Deputy Chief Bob Napier, I
want to thank you for all of the support you have already provided to me,
and I look forward to working closely with you in the years to come.
We have known each other for several years through OACP executive
positions, have always worked well together, and I look forward to the
opportunity to work with you here in Kingston.
Thank you.
To all members, I promise you approachable leadership and an open-door
policy. I believe that we are
all a part of the same team. Members
of the service are accountable for their actions, and the same is true for
the Chief and senior staff. As
the Chief I am responsible for my actions and accountable to all of you to
provide professional leadership that is delivered in a consistent manner
and is fair to all.
Our business planning processes will guide the future of our police force,
and I invite you to take whatever roles you can in those processes.
Senior managers must stay in touch with the front lines of service
delivery, and, while you will see me at those front lines, I will look to
you for input continually.
To our Police Association representatives, there are seldom issues that cannot be resolved at an early stage.
I promise you that I am always available to discuss issues and
believe that most often we can do so before they become issues.
I look forward to working with you towards the betterment of all
members of the force. Remember,
your members are my members, and, while there may be occasions where we
must “agree to disagree,” I believe that together we will ensure that
our members and the Kingston Police are best served.
To the Police Services Board, Municipal Council, and to our community, I
promise to provide you with strong leadership and an organization that is
as transparent as possible in our modern-day policing environment.
I thank you for your support to date for the strategic staffing
model and look forward to putting additional staff on the streets of
Kingston in the months to come.
As an organization we exist to make each and every citizen of Kingston as
safe and secure as possible. We
do not do that alone but rather in a cooperative working relationship with
our community. That
relationship requires openness from both sides and will require a strong
network that reaches into every corner of our community.
One very important element of what we do will be enforcement, and you can
look to us to continue to provide a high level of enforcement in all
areas. One critical issue in
Kingston—that is common in all cities—is the need for increased drug
enforcement. Through continual
high enforcement of our drug laws, we will over time see a reduction in
other spin-off crime areas such as break and enters, thefts, and
robberies. Expect to see
changes in these areas in the near future.
As an organization we will look for innovative ways of doing things, and
those ideas will come from our members and from our community partners.
An interesting quotation is “Insanity is doing the same thing
over and over, while expecting different results.”
However, at the end of the day, we exist to provide a service to this
community. We will ensure a
high level of service to all citizens, keeping their needs in mind,
dealing effectively and compassionately with victims, and bringing those
responsible for that victimization into our judicial processes.
I also want to thank my family for all of their support, throughout my
policing career and for my new position here in Kingston.
There have often been sacrifices, and those sacrifices do not and
will not go unnoticed.
It is with great pleasure that I accept my new position, and I am very
much looking forward to serving as your Chief of Police for several years
to come.
Thank you for the trust and faith that you have put in me to fill this
critically important public office.
I accept the challenges ahead, and I promise you my full commitment and
dedication as your Chief of Police.
Working closely together, we will realize our greatest successes, as an
organization, as individuals, and, most important, as a community.
S. J.
(Steve) Tanner
Chief of Police
