Work has begun to develop a new multi-year strategic plan for the Saint John Police Force.
The force is working with The Chapman Group, a strategic management consulting company, to develop the plan.
Tanya Chapman said they will be hosting focus groups and launching a survey over the coming weeks.
“We’ll be collecting that data, probably mid-February, and compiling it for the strategic planning sessions or workshops that will occur early March,” Chapman said during a recent Saint John Police Commission meeting.
From there, Chapman said they will work with the force to develop its strategic priorities for the next three to five years.
She said they hope to have a draft version of the strategic plan and its priorities ready by the end of March.
Chief Stephan Drolet said it will likely be early-to-mid-May before the plan is released to the public. Drolet said they want to take their time developing the document and ensure they get it right at the end of the day.
“The key is we have to have the proper consultation and then we have to put the proper process to make sure that we capture exactly what is being told by the communities,” said Drolet. “If we build a strategic plan and we don’t take into consideration what our community, our stakeholders are telling us, we’re set up for failure.”
Drolet, who will step down as chief later in February, said the force will create an annual performance plan outlining the initiatives and measures for each priority.
“I see probably a progress report every three to six months just to show this is where we are, this is what we set up to do this year in order to achieve that strategic priority,” he said.
“The performance plan and reporting on its progress toward objectives will provide transparent accountability and a continual focus on the delivery of service to our community,” Drolet added.
Ed Keyes, who chairs the commission, said it is too soon in the process to say whether the survey results will be released to the public.
Saint John Police Force survey online and available throughout the community. For details, visit https://t.co/umAjJ3tugb
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Sondage en ligne du service de police de Saint John accessible dans toute la communauté pic.twitter.com/CRio5xrPb0— City of Saint John (@cityofsaintjohn) February 2, 2021
