New records system will modernize police force: chief

Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Telegraph-Journal

The police force’s new records management system should be installed by December, according to Saint John police Chief Robert Bruce.
The new cloud-based records management system, developed in partnership with Ottawa-based Versaterm Public Safety, is now scheduled to go into training in October and November, according to an update on the force’s 2021-2026 strategic plan presented at a Saint John Board of Police Commissioners meeting Tuesday.
“(It’s) bringing us into the 21st century as far as report writing, accountability, access to information for our people so they can access it quicker, better, more in depth,” Bruce told Brunswick News after the meeting.
The cost to set up the system was listed as part of a $2.41 million increase to public safety in the city’s operating budget, with $1.4 million of that going to the police commission.
Saint John’s existing police records system has been described in the past as limited, with Brunswick News reporting in 2021 that the city had been omitted from a national study on domestic violence because of issues with reporting the number of domestic violence cases, and with Staff Sgt. Sean Rocca telling Brunswick News in April this year that the police could only give estimates for the number of police calls to shelters “without a manual review of each record.”
According to the strategic plan update, the agreement with Versaterm was reached in March 2023, and this spring, quality assurance specialists were brought on to assist the project team to prepare for implementation and training.
Bruce said the force is focused on patrols during the summer and adjusting to vacations, but training will take place in October and November with a planned start date of Dec. 1. He said implementation was slowed by 8-10 weeks by the labour dispute last fall between the city and CUPE Local 486.
Rocca, who presented the plan at the meeting, said the update shows that all 38 objectives are complete or in progress. The plan’s five core themes are “Engage our Community”, “Operational Efficiency”, “Focus on Talent Development”, “Financial Sustainability”, and “Improve our Brand,” according to a report provided to commissioners.
He said foot patrols returned for the summer in April around the city, but particularly in the business district.
Bruce added that they have “hit the vast majority of businesses so far” uptown, and that police are also stepping up patrols of Rockwood Park.
Rocca said that a new initiative involves rotating officers in specialized units through patrol shifts for one week each through June and August to “re-engage” with front line policing and patrol officers.
Rocca told the meeting the force has engaged in three traffic campaigns and hosted seven school tours in 2024 and that 960 students from nine schools were involved in the “Healthy Me” program, which helps students with values and coping skills, according to the report.
The force’s community engagement team has logged 315 community events and contacts in 2024, and all sworn and civilian members of the force have signed up for volunteering with the team, according to the report.
New committees include the Fit for Duty committee, which identifies opportunities to improve health and wellbeing and which is set to have its first meeting June 18, Rocca told the meeting.
There’s also a Collision and Vehicle Damage committee, announced May 29, which Bruce told Brunswick News was an opportunity to better track any damage to police vehicles and identify if training for officers is needed.
“We weren’t seeing an inordinate amount of collisions or damage, but we weren’t tracking it very well to begin with, so now we’re going to track it better,” Bruce said.
A panel called the Chief’s Community Action Group, which involves local community groups and nonprofits, last met May 9 and is working on a report to make recommendations to other levels of government on topics such as “homelessness, substance use, mental health, and youth poverty,” according to the report.
“We have a phenomenal group of non-profits in this city … they’re all underfunded, they’re all under-resourced, so we’re trying to combine our efforts to see how we can do this together,” Bruce told Brunswick News. “We’re trying to … put some pressure on different levels of government to say ‘Look, we’re doing the best we can with what we have, but we need more if we’re going to be better, and our vulnerable population, really, they can’t be left behind.'”
Commission member Katelin Dean said it’s “so incredible to see how the strategic plan has unveiled” since it was first presented in 2022.
“Couldn’t be happier, as a board member,” Dean said.
Other initiatives include promoting the 175th anniversary of the force as well as the 25th anniversary of the police auxiliary, as well as refining the force’s financial reporting processes and enhanced internal cost review mechanisms, according to the update.

With files from Brunswick News archives

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