‘I am committed to my position here’: Prince Albert police chief responds to non-confidence vote

By Nigel Maxwell

Prince Albert Police Chief Jon Bergen sits calmly in his office at the city’s police station, but there is a noticeable presence of concern both on his face and in his voice.

The past few weeks have not been easy for Bergen, or for the police service as a whole, with three in-custody deaths being investigated by independent agencies; a young child’s death the focus of a separate investigation by the Saskatchewan Complaints Commission; criticism from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN); and more recently a non-confidence vote by the union representing the city’s police officers.

On Monday, Bergen met with paNOW and talked openly about his leadership and plans going forward.

“This is a really heavy and distracting time and this is a lot of weight to carry,” Bergen explained, adding he also knows he’s not carrying it alone and the recent events represent a weight on the entire organization.

The result of this month’s no-confidence vote was 95 per cent with more than 90 out of 102 members voting. Among the reasons cited behind the discontent were Bergen’s leadership style, and increased pressures being felt by officers as a result of increasing call volumes.

Police association president Josh Peterson said he foresaw the only path forward was one without Bergen at the helm. Bergen told paNOW he has no plans to resign.

“I am committed to my position here. I am committed to the Prince Albert Police Service. The Prince Albert Police Service has been a part of my life since I was born,” he said.

The vote this month was the second of its kind in two years. The result in 2020, near the start of the pandemic, was just over 70 per cent.

“I think whether it’s a low percentage or a high percentage, it’s really a time to listen and we are definitely listening,” he said.

Also among the concerns raised by the police association was a perceived lack of communication from upper-level management. Bergen explained team leaders meet weekly; meetings with the association are held monthly to discuss labour-management issues and he said his own door is open anytime for members who have questions.

Bergen also said a weekly newsletter provides all members with updates as to what administration is doing.

“We know it’s a difficult job. We know we ask a lot and the community has many challenges. We also know we have a lot of incredible work occurring on the backs of the Prince Albert Police Service,” Bergen explained.

Noting his surprise to have a vote like this so early in his tenure, Bergen said it’s important to recognize the timeline for the vote came at the same time investigations were ordered, which Bergen acknowledged creates a sense of jeopardy and public scrutiny.

“I know it’s uncomfortable. I know that’s going to weigh on the members that are subject to those investigations. It weighs on the entire organization but I can also feel very lonely for the ones that are carrying that weight as a subject office,” he said.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 10, a 13-month-old child was found dead at a West Hill residence, less than six hours after officers had initially been to the home and arrested the mother.

The FSIN called for the immediate termination of the two officers involved. Bergen confirmed he called the executive director of the Public Complaints Commission, and the independent investigation was ordered as soon as he had the information.

“That was on the day of the death of baby Tanner,” Bergen said. “That investigation was ordered as promptly as it could be.”

Bergen also expressed the importance of being accountable and transparent to the community the police serve, adding it’s important to let the process work, collect and gather information and make sure the process is as thorough as possible and don’t rush to any decisions.

“Making sure we have the information from these independent organizations to inform any decisions that need to be made going forward,” he said.

From 2017 to 2021, annual call volumes have increased from 37,848 to 41,140. Within that same time frame, victims of violent crimes jumped from 983 to 1,163.

Discussing what work has been done to protect the mental health of officers, Bergen explained a number of agreements had been signed, including a mental health strategy for members as well as their families, mentorship strategies, and better oversight and care within the cell block area.

“Those things weren’t occurring prior to myself and my team coming unto these positions,” Bergen said. “We are going to continue to work on those.”

Bergen also explained a number of supports are in place to help take pressure off patrol, including a police and crisis team which can commit the time to sit down with victims in the hospital, and also help collect information and knowledge to deal with specifics problems.

The expansion of the K-9 unit, the use of community safety officers, a combined traffic division, and missing persons investigators were also listed by Bergen as measures to help address the pressures.

Another concern raised by the association had to do with the recent exit of a number of young officers to other cities, claiming it had to do with Bergen’s leadership. Acknowledging a number have left for individual reasons, Bergen said all those reasons were specific to those individuals or their family

“None of reasons I heard were directed at me being the chief here,” he said.

According to numbers provided to paNOW, since 2018, six officers have left for other police services, including the RCMP, Regina Police Service and Saskatoon Police Service.

Bergen noted a number of new members have also been recruited from other police services both inside and outside the province, including new Deputy Chief Farica Prince.

A total of 17 of those currently serving with PAPS out of the total sworn of 102 came to the city from other agencies. Within collective bargaining is wording to contain hiring of officers from the outset as well as exit.

“So hiring experienced is nothing new and having members leave after they have been trained and experienced with us is not new either,” Bergen said.

In addition to making sure there are enough members on patrol, Bergen emphasized his main focus is on training and getting the most up-to-date equipment. Among the examples provided are the opening of the downtown substation to provide much-needed additional work space, new tactical equipment, and ballistic armour have also been purchased.

“I don’t know how I could have such an impact on somebody that I would drive them out of the police service when that’s been the work I’ve been focused on, especially at a constable level where our interactions are so minimal,” Bergen said.

Response from the deputy chief

Prince was sworn in nearly 5 1/2 months ago. She told paNOW she has not experienced this type of knowledge sharing and in-depth communication in any other organization.

“We all jump on a call and sometimes the call is half an hour, sometime the call is an hour but we are sharing information that we are expected to take back to our areas,” she said.

Prince also explained the monthly labour management meetings are an opportunity for the union to air its concerns.

“I’ve been to four labour management meetings and there’s hasn’t been one of the meetings that a significant or urgent concern or issue was brought from the association,” she said, adding she does not recall the word ‘confidence’ being used until Feb. 10 when the association was advised an investigation had been ordered as per the Saskatchewan Police Act.

Commenting on the non-confidence vote and the scrutiny surrounding the independent investigations, Prince said she feels there is a lack of awareness around processes within the Police Act. That being said, a vote of non-confidence on a chief of police is a vote of non-confidence in the entire administration team, she said.

“He doesn’t make decisions on his own. He is well informed by data, research and members of his administrating team,” she said.