Screenshot of the media conference Thursday morning. (Screenshot/paNOW Staff)

By Ian Gustafson

New Addition

‘It was just an attractive move, and it was time, and I was ready’: PAPS deputy chief looking forward to new job

Sep 16, 2021 | 5:12 PM

The Prince Albert Police Service’s new Deputy Chief Farica Prince was officially introduced Thursday morning at a virtual media conference. Yesterday the Prince Albert Police Service announced Prince would become the new deputy chief after serving as an inspector in the Blood Tribe Police Service in Alberta.

She explained learning about the community of Prince Albert was refreshing.

“The size of the city, the diversity, how important the city is to the North of Saskatchewan and really learning about how hard the community has been working together,” she said. “It was just an attractive move, and it was time, and I was ready. I’m looking forward to joining the family at Prince Albert Police Service and making my home in Prince Albert.”

Prince is looking forward to getting into P.A., settling in, and learning about the organization.

She believes relationships are key when looking at public safety issues and hopes to contribute to the police service’s efforts in that. Accountability, transparency, employee wellness, community safety and wellness are also important to her.

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“Those are all priorities that Prince Albert Police Service and the community of Prince Albert has identified and I’m able to ethically align myself with those priorities because those are important to me as well,” Prince explained.

As one of few police leaders who have made the transition from Indigenous policing into municipal, Prince said she understands there is a lot of challenges and learning opportunities with the job.

“But continuous learning is something that I’m committed to, and I know that with the fantastic team I’m going to be working with, we’re going to get some work done and it’s going to be really good,” she added.

She said she is specifically motivated to work towards is collaboration, consultation, relationship building, and relationship management.

“Focusing on the human aspect of public safety, technical skills, frontline policing, you know that’s the bread and butter of what we do,” Prince explained. “But I think what I bring to the position is understanding that that’s not the only thing we do and focusing on the human factor and connecting with people and understanding what people need from us and what we need from them moving forward together.”

She’s hoping to help everyone in the community and has been committed to advocating for and bringing awareness to the barriers and issues that marginalized people face, especially in the justice system and in interactions with police.

Prince Albert Police Chief Jon Bergen said it’s important to have diverse representation throughout the entire organization including in the administrative ranks.

“We work extensively hard to make sure we reflect the community that we serve, and you see that in current strategies like the Metis Nation Saskatchewan Mentorship Program,” Bergen said. “Discussions are ongoing in furthering Indigenous mentorship through the Prince Albert Grand Council in partnership and so that work is always occurring.”

He added it’s important to reflect the community they serve because it brings a different and better understanding of what the needs of the community are.

“Farica was selected because of her experience, her education and her values and what she offers as a person to the Prince Albert Police Service,” Bergen explained.

“Diversity will always be important to the Prince Albert Police Service. We recognize that we have work to do with our recruiting. When we look at our gender diversity, we’re below the national average and that’s an area that we can definitely do better in but that isn’t what led the process here at all.”

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Ian.Gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @IanGustafson12