Prince Albert Police Chief Jon Bergen. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Community safety

P.A.’s top cop talks sensitive topics

Jun 23, 2020 | 4:50 PM

Body cameras, Clare’s Law, and the Black Lives Matter movement have all been very high profile issues in recent weeks as recent protests has led to a re-examination of policing locally and abroad. paNOW recently discussed all three sensitive subjects in a phone interview with Prince Albert Police Chief Jon Bergen.

Clare’s Law

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Clare’s Law allows police to release information to a person about their intimate partner’s past violent or abusive behaviour. Bergen explained the Prince Albert Police Service is preparing for the law to take effect. Two members of the organization are specifically trained for the new protocol and to help lead and educate their fellow colleagues on its practice.

Bergen said it’s hard to predict at this stage what impact the new law will have in Prince Albert.

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“We know that we are going to have to respond when there is a request and we are going to have to make sure that we have the staff to do that in a timely manner because that’s ultimately very important as well,” he said.

Body cameras

A push for more Canadian police officers to wear body cameras has been gaining momentum in recent weeks, following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and several recent incidents across this country.

While the cameras were not included in this year’s police budget, Bergen confirmed there have been discussions about them. He explained there are many questions to consider.

“What’s the right equipment to use, what’s the storage periods, how does disclosure work and who’s responsible for the additional duties related to the downloading,” he said.

The Saskatoon Police Service will conduct its own pilot project later this year, and Bergen hinted a similar process may happen next year in Prince Albert. Bergen said he would first like to see what other detachments in other cities across the country are doing with respect to equipment, software and policies.

“Ultimately we are going to take a look at what’s right for Prince Albert,” he said.

Diversity

At this week’s board of police commissioners meeting, a report was submitted to the board, updating the diversity and demographics that make up the police service.

The police service is currently made up of 125 total permanent employees with 99 being sworn police personnel.

According to the most recent Stats Canada data as of May 2018 there were 68,562 police personnel in Canada with four per cent of the total police officers identifying as Indigenous, 22 per cent of police officers being female and eight per cent of all police officers in Canada identifying as a visible minority.

Within the Prince Albert Police Service, 85 per cent of sworn members are men, and 15 per cent are women. As a whole, the police service is at 29 per cent total member diversity, with specific police personnel self-identified at 27 per cent diversity.

(City of Prince Albert)

“We are proud of the fact that we do reflect our community and we do continue to work towards our goal of being a diverse police service,” Bergen said.

Bergen was among several city officials who attended the Black Lives Matter rally in Prince Albert earlier this month. He said the global movement has forced the police service to take a look at itself, and look at ways to build public trust and confidence.

“What can we do to make sure we are part of the solution and not building a bigger problem,” Bergen said.

(City of Prince Albert)

Acknowledging discussions in other major cities involving police defunding, Bergen said members of Prince Albert Police Service recognize they have a high level of accountability. He added though that the accountability must also be fair and balanced.

“Police members need to know they have the support of the community, and the police service and the chief of police to be able to go out and safely do their job,” he said. “They have to know and trust that we are behind them 100 per cent of the time when they need to make a decision to keep themselves safe and the public safe.”

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell