Saanich Police Board announces new chief constable for district police department
The Saanich Police Board announced Thursday that Deputy Chief Dean Duthie will become the 18th chief of the district’s police department on Feb. 1, 2022.
The 26-year veteran of the Saanich Police Department will replace outgoing Chief Const. Scott Green, who will retire on Jan. 31, 2022. Duthie has served as a deputy police chief alongside Deputy Chief Gary Schenk since 2020.
Saanich Mayor and police board Chair Fred Haynes says the board made the decision to promote Duthie to chief constable after thorough and competitive process.
“We’re going to continue with the same type of leadership that’s led the department to be one of the top police departments in Canada that deliverers emotionally informed policing to the residents of Saanich,” said Haynes. “I think when we look at the safety index for Saanich, I think its one of the best in B.C., so on that side of the equation the residents of Saanich can sleep easy.”
Duthie says during his career, policing has become more complex, with police officers seeing more calls for people suffering from mental health or addictions issues. He says he has also seen a rise in violent crime in Greater Victoria.
“A lot of those instances didn’t happen within the jurisdiction of Saanich, but that doesn’t make us immune from the issue and this ongoing problem,” said Duthie. “By collaborating and working with our neighbouring police departments as well as some social service agencies, that is where some solutions will be identified and pursued.”
Since starting his policing career with the Saanich Police Department, Duthie has progressed through the ranks. In his 26-year career, he has gained a wide range of experience on police operations, investigations and administrative roles. He was promoted to acting deputy chief in 2019 prior to his promotion to deputy chief in 2020.
Duthie says that one of the key priorities he will address when he assumes the role of chief constable in February is improving equity, diversity and inclusion within the Saanich Police Department.
“This is an area we’ve been paying close attention to in the last year to two years,” said Duthie. “We’re looking to continue this by infusing it into everything we do in the organization from recruiting to training and the way we conduct business.”
“This is going to be accomplished by internal means, but also through enhanced community partnerships and engagements to ensure that our learning continues and that we can move forward in a positive and productive way,” he said.
In addition to selecting Duthie as the Saanich Police Department’s 18th chief constable in its 115-year history, the police board also promoted Insp. Robert Warren to the position of deputy chief constable effective Feb. 1, 2021. Warren will fill the role vacated by Duthie and will work alongside current Saanich Police Department Deputy Chief Gary Schenk.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'