North Bay Police Chief Daryl Longworth is still adjusting to his new role with the North Bay Police Service.
The former Chief of the Woodstock Police Service, who has more than 30 years of policing experience, was officially sworn in as North Bay's 11th police chief on Monday.
On Tuesday, Longworth took in his first Police Board meeting as North Bay's Top Cop.
Longworth emphasized the importance of education and public engagement to prevent vehicle theft, highlighting the need for community involvement and feedback to improve police services.
Right now he's trying to get a feel for his new role.
"I don't do front line police but I do want to be out on the street with the members working with them from time to time just to get a fuller picture of what their average work day is like, and then how we can improve equipment training and get feedback from them," explained Longworth in a media interview after the March Police Board Meeting.
"There are 170 members here. There should be 170 people feeding us with a better way of doing business."
Next week Longworth is going to get more engaged with his new community.
"Going to the downtown businesses, and visiting local politicians, municipal workers downtown and really getting a better understanding of what the community expectations are.
"We have the strategic plan which informed us by a survey that was done and we want to hear from the community about what they expect from their police service, and how we can move the bar and meet the needs of the community expects us to be up there doing."
While Longworth has not worked in the north before, he believes his time in Woodstock in a community close to North Bay's size will give him a good perspective on his new job here.
"I find a lot of the problems seem to be the same," explained Longworth.
"There are staffing issues, much like there is across the province. I was fortunate to do 30 years of policing and retire. I am not so sure the current generation is going to do the 30 years anymore so we need to think outside the box about how we are going to make better use of the staff that we have. How we can attract new people, especially to the north. I think what I have learned is this community has a lot to offer especially when you take a look at the cost of living and housing - salaries and benefits. It is pretty much comparable across the province give or take $1,000."
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Much like former Police Chief Scott Tod in the past, Longworth hopes the service continues with more success luring experienced officers from the south, to the north.
"That continues to this day the legacy of Chief Tod is that we are continuing to do work, right now we have a couple of officers in our background phase from other jurisdictions," he said.
"From what I see there is an openness for change, and I think people are looking to me with a new set of eyes to see what I can bring. Not because I have great ideas but what can I do to facilitate the changes that people are expecting and the ideas they may have and they can bring forward and share with us."
And from a younger perspective, Longworth hopes to work on ways to better connect with students at Nipissing and Canadore.
"How do we engage the students to attract them, not just those involved in the criminal justice programs, but how do we get that message out to other police services that this is a great community to live in and it is a fantastic place to work.
"Our recruiting department should be the people who work here telling their friends across the province that this is a great place to work and that has already been happening."
