THUNDER BAY — The Thunder Bay Police Service Board approved a new strategic plan on Tuesday, which will take the board and the service through the next three years.
Crime reduction is always at the top of the board’s mind, but focusing in on public trust is something that this new strategic plan is geared towards as well.
With the Seven Youth Inquest, the Broken Trust report and the Sinclair report, Karen Machado, chair of the Thunder Bay Police Service Board, said there are probably about 200 recommendations that need to be worked on.
“It’s not a secret, the reports and the scrutiny this board and the service has been under . . . it’s been recognized that there is a lack of trust and that trust has been broken.
“This board and the service is committed to doing that, and I think we’ve demonstrated that there is a lot of great progress,” Machado said.
She said internally, there’s a lot of work to do, but the public will not likely see visible changes.
“We’re going to build on this and really use this to develop performance plans to develop the organization.
“We’ve already seen the chief and his commitment and his work. He’s ongoing with the community consultations, his chats with the chief, his weekly and monthly communications, so I don’t think those will change. This is just building on that to make sure it’s enshrined in our process,” she said.
Deputy police chief Ryan Hughes said the force is excited for the new plan.
“We’ve worked with the board and Firedog in helping develop it.
“We want our members to feel that they’re supported by leadership and they have the leadership to follow,” he said.
He added that the mental health and wellness of staff have always been important, but now it is on paper.
“We need our officers and civilian members healthy and in the right state of mind to be working. We don’t want them to go off. We will do what we have to, and we’ll provide training courses, we’ll look at different ways of reducing workload to assist them with that.
“It’s satisfaction, but we have to show our members that we’re going to do what we say is on paper. I think that’s the big thing,” he said.
The plan was prepared by Firedog Communications and CEO Stephanie Ash said her firm conducted extensive consultation with 16 internal and external focus groups and surveys with both staff and the general public.
“It has been a really interesting and fulfilling contract for us to do as an agency that’s locally based. Getting to hear from different stakeholders in the community, meet with so many different groups, work with the service, and the board, it’s just been really rewarding and I’ve learned a lot about my community,” Ash said.
She said the number one priority heard through all consultations was preventing and reducing crime.
The second priority was a healthy and supported workforce, with the third being accountable leadership.
“We felt it was very important in this plan that the key performance indicators were very well thought out and allowed the board and the service to easily report back to the community on progress,” Ash said.
To view the new plan, visit the board’s website.
