New Timmins police chief ready for the challenges ahead

Armed with notes, Chief Sydney Lecky was ready for his first public meeting with the Timmins Police Service Board on Thursday.

The first order of business was bringing the board up to date on his activities in the past month.

Lecky has been meeting with members of the public and the business sector lately and also made a special visit to meet with the residents of Spruce Hill Lodge in South Porcupine.

Surprisingly, he said the question he gets asked the most is exactly what motivated him to move to Timmins

Born in New Brunswick and raised in Jamaica, he’s spent the past 20 years working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in British Columbia and Northwest Territories.

“So much of my experience is closely aligned with the type of work that I expect and anticipate here in Timmins,” said Lecky.

“And as it's turned out, that's proving to be the case. Many of the issues are very similar, some on a smaller scale, some on a larger scale. But the other thing that really is meaningful for me is I get to continue to work and engage with our Indigenous communities.”

When it came time to hire a new chief, the Timmins Police Service Board used a recruiting firm with a proven track record. Lecky is also the city’s first Indigenous police chief.

“The expectations I have on myself are significant and what I have for those who work in the police service itself -- it's an important role that we all have,” he said.

Armed with notes, Chief Sydney Lecky was ready for his first public meeting with the Timmins Police Service Board on Thursday. (Lydia Chubak/CTV News)

“We're all leaders in our in our own rights and we have a service delivery obligation to the community consistent with the values that have been set forth by our community and our board.”

Recruitment continues to be a main priority for the Timmins board. Three new officers were appointed after the meeting.

“I believe at this point in time we're at 83 officers (and) we're continuing those recruitment pieces,” said acting deputy chief Darren Dinel.

Recruitment still a priority

“We have a number of people involved in the process for hire as cadets and training. We have some that are at Police College now and we're progressing to hire more officers as we as we speak.”

Thirteen more officers will bring the service to its full complement, which officials look forward to since there hasn’t been any reduction in the number of social disorder calls.

And, in reference to the supervised consumption site closing, the chief doesn’t expect a calamity to ensue.

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“You know, there's a lot of consumption that wasn't happening in there that was happening elsewhere so I don't know that we're going to see a significant change, but we'll be there to do our part the best we can, said Lecky.”

He said without public trust, you can’t have policing. Lecky said he’s also working on staffing a communications position because he said it’s important to keep the public informed.