Hail to the chief
Re: “Search for Vancouver’s next police chief begins,” Jan. 30.
Firstly, I would like to thank Chief Constable Jim Chu for his many years of service to the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Police Department. He is, hands down, the best chief of police this city has ever seen. May the policies that have been instituted under his tenure be continued by the new chief.
I sincerely hope the Vancouver Police Board disregards the questionable advice of former mayor Sam Sullivan that they consider hiring a non-police officer to lead the department.
Any new recruit, and any present member of the police department must have the opportunity to aspire to become the chief constable. Clearly, hiring outside the force didn’t work for the RCMP because career bureaucrat William Elliott never grasped what it meant to rise through the ranks.
I worked as a civilian at the VPD many years ago and remember clearly how one high ranking officer, who was never a rank and file police officer, being elevated from a civilian position at the station, never garnered much respect from the police officers because he had never walked in their shoes.
Linda Hull, Vancouver
