Devon Clunis sworn in as Winnipeg police chief

Devon Clunis was sworn in Friday as Winnipeg's new chief of police.

About 200 people attended the ceremony in the mayor's foyer of the council building and watched Clunis, a 25-year veteran who is also the police service chaplain, officially become the city's 17th police chief.

Clunis said he will release his plan for the city in the next few months but noted his focus is on crime prevention, particularly though police coming together with community groups to tackle the root causes of crime.

"Those include poverty, poor living conditions, alcohol and drug abuse, physical and sexual abuse, a lack of parenting skills and education. These arent traditional police issues but we must become a catalyst to change our city," he said.

Clunis, who began his career with the WPS in 1987,  takes over from Keith McCaskill, who has served in that role since December 2007.

Clunis has served in all major areas of the organization including uniform patrol, traffic, plainclothes investigation, community relations, organizational development, and duty office, as well as a number of administrative leadership roles.

He has also overseen the development of an in-house leadership development program for newly-promoted police officers.