Short list for new police chief too short

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By EMC News

The city has picked up a nasty habit.

In the interest of harm reduction, an intervention is in order as our elected representatives appear to have learned little from the Lansdowne reconstruction fiasco.

In that case, council voted to accept a proposal from a sole supplier, and then had to attempt to explain why they didn't need to explore alternatives. The consequences of that decision has led to a drawn-out process where nearly two years after the vote, shovels have yet to be plunged into the ground along the Rideau Canal.

Now we come to the process to select a new chief of police following Vern White's appointment to the Senate. The police services board appears to have caught the same bug that befell council over Lansdowne.

Usually the city wouldn't hire a street sweeper without asking for public applications, but the police board thinks it's a good idea to only consider existing members of the police department for the chief's job.

There are a couple of potential problems with this decision.

For one, White was long ago given the mandate to groom an internal candidate to take his position if he moved on. The potential folly of that requirement becomes evident now: his subordinates may have spent years beholden to the man who can hand them the keys to the chief's office down the road. One of those former subordinates will now become chief.

Another problem is similar to the one that caused all the kerfuffle over Lansdowne.

What if there is an external candidate out there who has a better product to offer. Why shut them out?

Choosing a supplier and ignoring all other offers is not a good way to run an ice cream stand and it's not a good way to run a city either.

White has shown good judgment as chief and we hope he shows good judgment in recommending someone for his job. But we shouldn't have to gamble on one person's best guess.

Maybe one of the two deputy chiefs is the best person for the job of chief, but we'll never know if there's no open competition.

By foregoing an open, cross-country job search, the police services board has limited the quantity - and likely the quality - of applicants. Ottawa is one of the biggest cities in the country, plus its capital. Surely a Help Wanted sign hung in the window by the board would attract the interest of a number of top law enforcement officers in Canada.

If we're going to spend money on a chief of police, let's get the right man or woman for the job. An open competition is the only way to make sure that happens.