Glenn De Caire extended as Hamilton police chief through 2018

Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire will be chief through 2018, under a two-year contract extension granted Thursday by the Hamilton Police Services Board.

People of Hamilton should feel a lot safer on his watch.- Board chair Lloyd Ferguson on extending Chief Glenn De Caire's contract

The vote was 7-0 in favour of extending the chief's contract. The decision was reached after the board met for more than two hours behind closed doors following the regular board meeting.

"The board has the utmost confidence in this chief," board chair Lloyd Ferguson said.

De Caire, 53, said he was "proud" to continue as chief and said one of his goals going forward is to build more partnerships with local organizations, nonprofit agencies and school boards.

"We always need to remember that the public trust is fragile, and those relationships are fragile," he said. "We are but one radio call away from any incident at any time, but I've got great confidence in our people, I've got great confidence in our training, in our policies, in our supervisors and in our oversight mechanisms."

'Have we got work to do? Absolutely'

Ferguson said the board didn't want to place the burden of recruiting a new chief on a "brand-new board" in place after the next municipal election cycle in 2018, and so only granted the chief two more years rather than three. 

Ferguson cited reductions in crime, restrained budgets and the police performance during the recent Pan Am Games among the reasons to keep the chief. The chief is "one of the hardest working guys I know," Ferguson said.

"People of Hamilton should feel a lot safer on his watch," Ferguson said.

Ferguson said criticism about the street checks/carding practice, among other allegations of racial insensitivity, has given him pause. 

"Have we got work to do? Absolutely," he said. "Particularly around this whole racial thing. I think we need to work harder at that. You know, I need to work harder at that, as does the entire board, as does the entire service. Because even if it's just a perception, we've got to put a better message out there."

The chief cited an example raised in the afternoon meeting when members of an at-risk youth intervention group came to the chief for help connecting with the Muslim community. 

The contract extension does not take effect until the end of 2016, but the board had to let De Caire know by the end of the year if they intended to search for a new chief.

'We will not shy away from accountability'

De Caire was hired as chief of the Hamilton Police Service at the end of 2009.

During the six years of his tenure, De Caire has launched a high-profile ACTION team focused on curbing violent crime and disorder, mostly downtown. He's partnered on or launched some widely regarded mental health approaches. But he's also been criticized for an autocratic management style and insensitivity toward racial issues.

He addressed a question about the results of a police union survey, which found workers felt they worked in a "culture of fear" and the majority of respondents did not want his contract renewed. 

"With responsibility of running a police service comes accountability," De Caire said. "We will not shy away from accountability, and we will never shy away from doing what is right for the protection of our people, and the protection of the community." 

"This chief isn't perfect. This mayor isn't perfect, nor is our city," said Mayor Fred Eisenberger earlier this week. "In my opinion he's done a very effective, important job."