‘The real deal’: VicPD’s next chief emphasizes building trust with community

The incoming police chief for Victoria and Esquimalt says she’s eager to embark on a “steep learning curve” to familiarize herself with the communities.

The incoming police chief for Victoria and Esquimalt says she’s eager to start marching up a “steep learning curve” to familiarize herself with the communities and department.

Fiona Wilson is a deputy chief for the Vancouver Police Department, where she’s worked for 26 years.

“I understand that I am coming into what is going to be a very, very steep learning curve. And I do that with the humility to understand that I have a lot to learn,” Wilson said at a press conference on Friday.

Wilson will assume the role of Victoria Police Department (VicPD) chief on Aug. 15.

“VicPD was really attractive to me for a whole pile of reasons,” she said. “Some of those are being closer to community (and) to being able to really focus on getting to know the people that I work with every day.”

Wilson has taken on various leadership roles during her career, overseeing several sections in VPD.

“My leadership style is one that is really rooted in community (and) building trust and confidence with community, but also really caring for the health and wellness of the sworn members and civilian professionals of VicPD,” she said.

Outgoing Chief Del Manak will spend two weeks on the job with Wilson before retiring on Aug. 31.

“She’s the real deal. She has an amazing résumé,” Manak said.

“But what’s more important to me is the person she is. She’s thoughtful. She’s kind. She’s caring. And she’s going to be a great fit.”

‘The unknown is very difficult for people’

Victoria City Police Union president Sgt. Angela Van Eerd is throwing her support behind Wilson.

“I believe it’s going to be very positive for us,” she said. “She’s got a phenomenal leadership style that is going to fall very well with the members in our department.”

Van Eerd said she’s hearing “a ton of mixed emotions” from members about their new boss.

“Change is hard, right? And the unknown is also very difficult for people,” she said. “There’s people who know Fiona Wilson from being the deputy chief in Vancouver and there’s people who don’t know her at all.”

Wilson has been criticized for how she handled the announcement of sexual assault charges against two Central Saanich Police Service officers.

In a letter leaked to the media, the Vancouver Police Union said Wilson’s description of the allegations as “deeply corrosive to the public trust” risks undermining the presumption of innocence.

Once she assumes the role, Wilson plans to address the matter with members.

“My heart goes out to everybody who is impacted by that investigation and the outcome of the investigation,” she said. “I look forward to having further conversations with people around that.”

Concerns Wilson will likely encounter

Wilson is focused on “delivering results” for the community, but said it’s too early to delve into what those results could be and how they’ll be delivered.

She’ll inevitably come up against the issue of public safety.

“Many of the issues that she’ll face in the city of Victoria, particularly in the densest part of the urban environment, are similar to Vancouver’s, just on a different scale,” Victoria mayor Marianne Alto said.

A recent Leger poll found 73 per cent of respondents discern downtown Victoria with distaste, saying it’s in a state of decline. Many of the people surveyed cited safety as a concern.

“The city has been working for some time on a plan to advance community safety and well-being in a very complex and comprehensive manner,” Alto said.

“The skills and abilities that Fiona has demonstrated and to which she spoke in the (hiring) process are very nicely in line with that.”

Wilson is also likely to encounter the matter of police in schools. In January, B.C.’s education minister fired the Greater Victoria School Board following disputes about the board’s decision to end the school liaison officer program.

“I am certainly a big supporter of having school liaison officers,” Wilson said.

There’s also the question of whether Esquimalt will part ways with the police service under her command. For several years, the township has been exploring options to move to a different policing model.

“It’s always been about the challenge around funding, the inequity, the challenges of two very different communities, and the governance,” said Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins.

“I know that Fiona — in her steep learning curve — is going to listen and work to understand what the challenges are for Esquimalt within this situation.”

A nationwide search

The Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board was responsible for the hiring decision. The board worked with a recruiting firm to conduct a national search.

“I can’t discuss the details of the recruitment process, but what I can tell you is that we have exceptional talent within VicPD. The board has enormous respect for our Deputy Chief Jamie McRae (and) our entire senior leadership team,” Hayes said.

“Succession planning and internal opportunities are extremely important to us at VicPD, but we did commit to conducting a robust search and bringing back the best candidate and that is what we have done.”