Sarnia Police Department swears in new chief of police

Derek Davis was sworn in as the new police chief of the Sarnia Police Department on May 31, 2022. (Marek Sutherland/CTV News London)

Tuesday saw a passing of the torch for Sarnia police’s top job.

Outgoing Police Chief Norm Hansen of the Sarnia Police Department welcomed Derek Davis before he was sworn in as the new chief of police on Tuesday.

“The priority right now is honestly to land and to listen, and learn — that is by far the number one. I want to talk to the senior team, I want to meet the members of the organization, I plan to go out and meet our community leaders,” Davis said.

Davis most recently was the commander for the City of Burlington, and has 25 years of service in the Halton area.

The new police chief said he wants to spend some time to get to know the landscape, but overall is excited to pursue his career in a smaller city like Sarnia, and acknowledged that there will be a lot to learn on the job.

“Policing is generally policing, wherever you are, a lot of it is just scale. Sarnia is going to have a lot of unique characteristics that I need to learn, I’m not very familiar with, so that’s what I need to do,” he said. “Fundamentals, we all share among any organization, but each city is specific and unique, and that’s the part I’m looking to lean on the experienced officers to bring me up to speed on.”

The new police chief added there’s “a ton of opportunity” in Sarnia, and is looking forward to exploring the more “personal contact” of policing that a smaller city like Sarnia will be able to offer.

“I’m also a fan of the more personal contact in policing. When you get into bigger services, it’s very industrial in its approach,” said Davis. “I like to call it the single building police service, where you can meet people, and know people and have a personal contact and connection.”

— With files from CTV News London’s Marek Sutherland