There’s officially a new police chief in Oak Bay.
Mark Fisher was sworn in as the department’s new chief constable Tuesday morning (Sept. 6) during a ceremony which also recognized the legacy of the outgoing chief, Ray Bernoties.
“I see a police department like this almost like a professional hockey team,” Bernoties said. “A small police department – it’s quite easy to sit in the back seat and wait for a bigger police department to do something – any sort of change or anything like that … But that wasn’t the way that Oak Bay did that. And that’s not because of anything that I did – that’s right from the top, that’s right from ownership, general management, coaching staff and the players on the ice who made it all happen.”
Fisher, who previously served as police chief from 2011 to 2014, returns to Oak Bay after serving as Nanaimo RCMP’s detachment commander and, most recently, Saskatchewan RCMP commanding officer.
“These are challenging times in policing,” Fisher said. “So as we move forward, one of my key roles as chief, I think, is to leverage that experience – to build on it for the betterment of the department, but also to improve our service to the community.”
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austin.westphal@saanichnews.com
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