Rick Hanson, Calgary's police chief, reflects on 2014

Calgary’s chief of police has a lot on his plate.

As the city’s top cop, he oversees a staff of nearly 3,000 people. It’s a finely tuned operation that most Calgarians probably take for granted.

We don't pay much attention to policing until the unpredictable happens, and who could have predicted the events of 2014?

Chief Hanson was front and centre on several stories that garnered international attention.

Five young people were stabbed to death in what police call the worst mass murder in Calgary’s history. The son of a prominent police officer is now facing charges.

• Matthew de Grood charged in Calgary's 'worst mass murder'
• TIMELINE | Calgary stabbings: What we know happened

Then there was the heartbreaking disappearance of little Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents, and the man charged with their murders despite no bodies ever being found.

Both of those cases are still before the courts, and the suspects are presumed innocent unless proven otherwise.

• Douglas Garland's appearance draws gasps in courtroom
• TIMELINE | Nathan O'Brien case: What we know

But there was also the troubling trend of young Calgary men leaving our city to fight for the most feared extremist group on the planet: ISIS.

• EXCLUSIVE | Suicide bomber killed in Iraq part of wider jihadi base in Calgary
• Calgary police aware of jihad recruiting for 8 years, chief says

​So what do these stories have in common? All have unanswered questions. I put some of those questions to the chief.

Watch the videos above to find out if Hanson believes there was a conflict of interest as Calgary police investigated the Brentwood stabbings, whether Nathan O'Brien's body will ever be found and the threat of an extremist attack in Calgary.