At the Cobourg Police Services Board January 15, 2019 meeting, the Board unanimously elected Council appointee Dean Pepper as Board Chair. Chair Pepper is a lifelong resident and business owner, in Cobourg, who rejoined the Board in late 2018 to fill a vacancy left by the late Chair Bryan Baxter.
Chair Pepper a former Cobourg Councillor, past member of the Cobourg Police Services Board and past Director on many community boards, to name a few, brings with him a long list of community, business and municipal experiences to the Cobourg Police Services Board.
“I am grateful and appreciate the confidence my fellow Board members placed in me. As Chair, I believe it is important that we continue to modernize our policing efforts in innovative ways making progress in crime prevention and crime reduction through community policing approaches. This includes tiered policing models that effectively and efficiently increase police presence; adoption and implementation of contemporary technology; advancement in operational expertise and training; modern equipment and peer support programs for the members. As the governance body for our police service, the Board is committed to maintaining the momentum of continuous improvement of the policing service provided to our community. As with past Police Services Board, extraordinary fiscal discipline and working in collaboration with multiple community partners remains our priority”. Said Chair Dean Pepper.
Mayor John Henderson and Councillor Aaron Burchat are the two new additions to the 5 member Police Services Board. The Board is awaiting the Provincial appointment of two additional Board Members to replace Past Chair Marg Godawa and Past Vice Chair Gayle Metson who’s appointments expired in 2018.
“It was a pleasure to serve under the previous Board members for the past 6 years. Their dedication to our community was very evident through the many hours of their personal time that was given serving on the Board.
With newly elected Police Association (union) Executives and new Police Services Board members, I remain very optimistic for the future of the Cobourg Police Service. Together we are looking forward to working collaboratively to keeping Cobourg safe”. Said Chief Kai Liu.