DELTA - Delta's new police chief, Neil Dubord, will assume command on June 29.
The 53-year-old White Rock resident has for the past three years been in charge of the Transit Police, a force of similar size. The Delta Police has 187 police officers and the Transit Police, 167.
Dubord's predecessor, Jim Cessford, was Delta's chief constable for 22 years before he retired in February.
"He leaves some big footprints," Dubord said of Cessford. Both had worked for the Edmonton Police earlier in their careers.
"I was his junior." Dubord said that deciding to leave the Transit Police was not easy, but he considers being the top cop in Delta to be the chance of a lifetime.
"I just couldn't pass up this opportunity," he said. "I'm very excited. It's an honour."
Dubord will soon "pass the torch" to an interim Transit Police chief, whose name has yet to be announced.
Dubord already has a storied career, with more than 28 years policing experience. Beside his last three years as chief of Transit Police, he also served 25 years with the Edmonton Police.
As the Deputy Chief of Edmonton's Community Policing Bureau, Dubord distinguished himself in front-line policing, tactical and strategic development, critical incident command, and has numerous awards and citations to show for it.
"I've always been close to the front line," he said.
In Edmonton, he led a team of police negotiators and emergency response officer in saving nine hostages who were held captive by a gunman at the workers compensation building for over 10 hours.
He also implemented the Community Action Teams in Edmonton to reduce violent crime.
"The purpose of the team was to deploy a highly visible and unified team into neighbourhoods of enduring crime to work closely with the community," Dubord said. "The CAT team disrupted patterns of violence through prevention, intervention and enforcement strategies."
Dubord also testified before the Senate Law and Justice Committee and the House of Commons Justice Committee on Bill S-221.
"This led to a change in the criminal code making it an aggravating circumstance to assault a public transit operator."
Dubord also holds an MA in Leadership and Training from Royal Roads University, a
PhD in Business Management from Arizona's Northcentral University, and has also studied at the Canadian Police College in Ottawa, the University of Virginia in Washington, DC, and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation at Quantico, Virginia.
Said Delta Mayor Lois Jackson, "We looked for a chief who is a strong leader with a proven track record in policing, a critical thinker and more importantly a person who believes in community policing and our 'no call too small' mandate. Mr. Dubord has all those qualities and a solid career behind him.
"We welcome him to our community," Jackson said, "and we are confident he will be an excellent fit for our organization and will continue to make Delta one of the safest communities in the Lower Mainland." tzytaruk@thenownewspaper.com