Windsor Police chief Al Frederick considering retirement in 2017
'Change is a positive thing,' according to Windsor's police chief, who has no retirement date at this point
Windsor's police chief Al Frederick is considering retirement and may choose 2017 to step down from the force.
When he finally decides on a date, the transition should be smooth, according to Frederick. Since taking over the top job at Windsor police five years ago, he's been focused on succession planning.
"There's nothing definite...2017 seems like a logical time," he told CBC News. "Change is a positive thing, especially at the top. Perhaps it's time for that to occur."
Frederick made his comments during a conversation about the year ahead for Windsor police. He discussed a host of issues, including the possibility of the federal government legalizing pot this year and the new carding rules aimed at eliminating random police street checks.
Legalizing pot
Frederick says a potential new chief will not affect the transition to legalized marijuana, which could happen this year, but he is concerned about certain parts of the legalization plan.
"Parts of the regulation will be very difficult for our officers to enforce," he said. "They say, they're going to allow four plants per household up until three feet tall. How will we enforce a law like that?"
Until more details are known, police cannot introduce any new policies or regulations.
"How it will be dispensed? Where it will be sold and grown? None of that is known," he said.
New carding rules
New carding regulations, which took effect Jan. 1 for police forces across Ontario, has already resulted in fewer street checks in Windsor, according to Frederick.
Officers now have to provide a written record every time they stop someone on the street and speak to them. They also must inform a citizen the stop is voluntary, meaning that person has the right to walk away and not participate.
"It's an onerous regulation for officers to engage in on a regular basis," Frederick said. "Where an interaction in the past would have taken five or 10 minutes, it's upwards of an hour now."
The chief hopes there are no issues of public safety as a result of the new regulations.
"What I'm hoping for when we measure the impact of this on community safety in a year, I hope there will be no negative impact," he said.