October 24th, 2009

Your honour Judge Moss, thank you for officiating my oath of office today.

Your worship mayor Goldsmith-Jones, thank you for your kind words and warm welcome.

I want to thank our dear friend Xwalackton, who conducted this most spiritual and moving drumming ceremony. My ancestors of the Mohawk nation would have been honoured by this most sacred welcome of the Squamish people, and I am blessed to stand on this sacred land, the traditional territory of the Squamish Nation. In return, my ancestors would expect that in serving the people of this land, I do so in a manner that would bring honour to their memory.

This is a truly memorable experience for me as I take this next step in my life long career as a police officer. This day is only more memorable because of the one person who I could count on for the support that I needed as I went through those moments of doubt when considering the job of Chief Constable, and to take that leap of faith. My wife Lori is here with us to celebrate this day.

When considering if I should take on the job of Chief Constable I didn’t know if I had it in me to move away from my comfort zone, and take the leap into the world of a municipal police force.

Lori was there to throw me over that cliff, and she wants to assure everyone here that WE are both prepared to take on the challenge.
 
As many of you will know, Lori is an 18 year veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She has always been there to work with me as a team during our many transfers from coast to coast to coast, and accepting the fact that every time I moved along and worked my way through the ranks as a member of the RCMP, her life would be tremendously disrupted. But she was always the first to say, “let’s do it”. I do however suspect that Lori is quietly saying below her breath “Thank God, he’s finally going to settle down”. And for the record, for at least the next five years.

Also present with us today are Lori’s parents, Raymond and Betty Tucker who are visiting all the way from St. John’s Newfoundland.

My daughter Caroline could not be present for this event as her work commitments did not make it possible for her to attend. However, as she has dedicated her life to the profession of criminal justice, she is most appreciative of what this community has done for the Lepine family.

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the presence of the police leadership from around the Province of British Columbia who have taken the time from their extremely busy schedules not only to witness this public swearing in, but also lend their support to the men and women of the West Vancouver Police Department. Your presence here brings honour not only to my new police family, but also to the entire community of West Vancouver. On behalf of the department and our community, thank you.

I want to thank the West Vancouver Police Board, and all of the staff within the Department for their warm welcome. I particularly want to thank my Executive Team for their help and patience with me as I settle in to my new role. You are truly an awesome group. I am fortunate to be associated with you.

In taking this oath of office, I acknowledge to the over 100 employees of the WVPD that I have been given a special privilege. The responsibilities that I now have should not and cannot be taken for granted. So, when the time comes for you to look to me for leadership, you will most likely find me in three areas of your lives:

There will be times when you will find me well out front of the team. During those times when we may need to move forward as we delve into uncharted territory, you can be assured that the reason why I am there is so that I can clear those land mines that may prevent us from great success.

From this position of leadership, I am also strategically placed to knock down those obstacles that prevent you from being the amazing police officers and people that you are.

There will be times when you will find me positioned right next to you as just another team partner, as we drive our strategies forward, providing our community with a level of service that will cause them to stand back and say “wow”. In the words of Mr. Peter Legge who recently graced us with his presence at our mess dinner, we want our community to have many opportunities to watch us do our thing and say “wow”.

I have often said, “The crown that I wear is not on my head, but on my shoulders”. And by standing next to you as a fellow police officer, it is a statement that I will never ask you to do something that I am not prepared to do myself.

There will be many occasions when you will likely see me standing directly behind you. As Mahatma Ghandi would often say, “there go my people; I must follow them for I am their leader”.

As your chief, there are times when I need to stand clear out of your way so that you can have the freedom to try new ideas that potentially could be the next big strategy that will cause the policing world to knock on our doors. By taking a position to your rear, I can allow you to learn and grow from the experience without feeling that I am always on top of you potentially hampering your progress.

And last but not least, by leading the team from the rear, it is also the most strategic place for me to be when you deserve a pat on the back for a job well done.

These lessons of leadership, I learned from these senior police officers sitting in front of me today. But there is one police officer that I need to recognize as one of the most influential leaders in my career. As a very young constable fresh out of the academy, Cpl. Mike Clarke was my very first road supervisor. In those days my job was to get the work done, his job was to keep me out of trouble. Some would say that his job was a whole lot harder than mine. But Mike always had faith that I could make something of myself if he was patient. Throughout the years that we worked together, Mike was there to catch me when I crashed, to teach me when the moment presented itself and to praise me when I did good. I recently found out that Mike and his wife are now residents of the District of West Vancouver. I am honoured that Mike is present amongst us today at this celebration. Thanks Mike for your leap of faith in me.

In 2 ½ short years, the WVPD will celebrate our 100th anniversary. The lessons passed on by those police officers that came before us during these past 100 years are not lost on the men and women of our department, but more importantly they create a foundation for us to move forward as we move into a future integration, accountability, collaboration, transparency, and serving with honour.

As I mentioned earlier, the men and women of our Department enjoy tremendous support from the citizens of West Vancouver. But I’m not so naïve to think that the good work that got us here, will keep us here if we are not prepared to make the necessary changes to adapt to the ever changing world around us.

Our strategic plan has run its course, it needs updating. To the citizens for the District of West Vancouver, your priorities should be our priorities. It should be about what we mean to you. So in a few short months, we intend to go out to the community where we can have a serious conversation about what we collectively feel is important when it comes to our service delivery. It’s time that we have meaningful communication.

The Department is believed to have a service delivery model where no call is too small. I think this term has been morphed from a time when we were simply everything to everyone. Gradually we migrated to a service delivery model where we are dedicated to spend the time that we need as we add value to the daily lives of our citizens. For decades, that’s how the men and women of the Department have done their job, but our world is changing, and time is no longer the luxury that it once was.

There are agencies out there that are a whole lot better equipped to deal with the multi-faceted issues that plague our communities. Not all public safety issues are policing issues. If there is a better way to solve a community problem, the historic practise of tossing it at the police department to make it disappear can no longer be an option for us. However, it is not within the Department to turn our backs on those who need help. The Department will dedicate itself to working in partnership with those organizations who are capable of doing it better than we can and is within their own mandate.

The Department will seize every practicable opportunity to work with our community, corporate, and volunteer partners if it means that we can deliver a better quality of service to the citizens of our community. The men and women of this Department have made it clear to me. They want partnerships to be included as part of our service delivery model.

To the RCMP and our Municipal Police partners, the men and women of the WVPD accepts your offer to seize upon those integrated policing opportunities to the degree that it will benefit the citizens of West Vancouver and to the degree that we can sustain them.

Our civic leaders expect their police department to leverage every opportunity to do the right thing. In a world where crime and victimization within our community is perpetrated more and more by those from outside our boundaries, we need to be there with you to drive an integrated solution that will better protect the citizens of West Vancouver. We cannot deliver if we are living in our own silos.

When it comes to the youth in our community, the WVPD will ensure that above all else, the kids in this community remain at the top of our priority list. The decision to have youth participation in this event, is an example of how much we value the youth in our community. And I must say, they have done a remarkable job today. I am so proud of you.

In closing I want to say Thank You for celebrating with us today.

It is now time for me to get down to business and get on the challenge as your new chief constable.

Thank you for your confidence in me, and thank you for the opportunity to serve you the citizens of West Vancouver.

Chief Constable Peter Lepine

West Vancouver Police Department