CHIEF STEPHEN J. TANNER

It continues to be a tremendous honour and privilege for me to lead the men and women of the Kingston Police as we enter 2011.  It does not seem possible that just over two years have passed since my appointment as Chief of this exceptional organization.  It has been a pleasure for me each and every day to work with our members, with the Police Services Board, and with our Mayor and Council in putting forth the very best police service we possibly can to serve the citizens of Kingston.  Together, we have made Kingston a safer place in which to live, work, and play, and we will continue to look for ways to enhance our level of service even more in the months and years ahead.

Over the past two years we have more than doubled the size of our Drug Unit; formed a Community-Oriented Response and Enforcement (CORE) Unit to address specific issues and trends throughout the city; doubled our Canine Unit; made a full-time investigative commitment to the fight against child pornography and Internet-related crimes against youth; and filled our Diversity and Crime Prevention positions.  In 2011 we will double the size of our full-time Traffic Unit to address issues related to traffic throughout our city.

In 2010 it was announced that the Kingston Police had the number one clearance rate for crimes based on the Statistics Canada Crime Severity Index.  In 2010 we also increased traffic enforcement by more than 3,000 additional charges as compared to 2008.  All of these accomplishments bear testament to the dedication, abilities, and commitment of our members.  Congratulations to all on our many successes.

Our website continues to be a source of information to our citizens, and we will continue to explore yet other forms of technology, e.g., online networking, to disseminate information in a timely fashion in the future.

At the end of the day, we exist as a community-funded organization to ensure the very safest city that we can possibly provide for all inhabitants.  We have been successful in doing so in 2010, and we will look for ways to enhance our level of service and community safety further throughout 2011.

Early in 2011 we will be involved in developing the next three-year business plan with the Kingston Police Services Board, to guide our decisions for the coming years.  We will be seeking a broad base of input for this process and will be welcoming citizens to respond via survey or otherwise to assist us in providing the services that the community would most like to see.  Thank you, and all the best to everyone for 2011.