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2011 was the 112th year of operation for what has
become the Bridgewater Police Service. It was a notable year in that it saw a
change in leadership at the top. In November, Chief Crowhurst left after nine
years of dedicated service to the town of Bridgewater. He is credited with
improving the overall standard of policing province wide, for which he was
recognized by being inducted in to the Police Order of Merit in 2010. Locally,
Brent was instrumental in implementing our current process of Strategic
Planning. Chief Crowhurst was seconded to Criminal Intelligence Service Nova
Scotia (CISNS) as their Executive Director for a three year term. Bridgewater’s Board of Police Commissioners appointed me to
the position of Chief of Police in early December. I am very appreciative of the
confidence they have shown in me with this appointment. Having come up through
the ranks of this Police Service, I am very aware of both our strengths and our
weaknesses as an organization. I believe our greatest asset is our members and
civilian staff. An example of this, was the announcement early in January 2012
of the appointment of Scott Feener as Deputy Chief of Police. Scott has been a
member of the service for 18 years and served operationally in a variety of
different roles. 2012/2013 will be a challenging time for our service. It
has already been necessary to eliminate some civilian positions within the
service as part of a re-alignment of priorities. The cost of policing has
increased, but in my opinion, so has the quality of policing. We continue to
work diligently to improve on our relationships with our policing and community
partners. This year, we will be asking for the public’s assistance in
developing our strategic plan for the next three years. This will be an
opportunity for all citizens to help us shape the future of our service. With
the help of our community, we can weather any storm on the horizon whether it be
financial or social in nature. |
