New chief says community policing a priority
By Madeline Kerr
The MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais officially has a new police chief, and he says that he intends to be “as accessible to the citizens here as possible.”
Paul Charbonneau was sworn in as the new Director of Public Safety for the MRC during a ceremony on Sept. 2 at Centre Wakefield La Pêche. His appointment as head of the regional police force follows the announcement last April that former police Chief Martial Mallette would be stepping down “for personal reasons,” according to a press release. Mallette, who was appointed in 2022, served three years of his five-year term.
Charbonneau has nearly 30 years of experience in the police field, having held various management positions with the Sûreté du Québec and the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service. He holds a master’s degree in administration from UQTR, where he teaches public safety, risk management, and recently headed the 911 emergency centre section of the Gatineau Police Service.
Chabonneau told the Low Down that, from his perspective, “Policing is about being in touch with the citizens. It’s about listening to them. They’re going to tell us what we need, and it’s our job, within the boundaries of the law, to give them what they need as much as possible.”
Charbonneau lives within the MRC – he is a resident of L’Ange-Gardien – but he acknowledged that many of the police officers on the force may not be residents of the communities they serve. Still, he said, he is intent on ensuring his officers conduct “good community policing.”
“For me, this means, if you don’t live in the territory, you still get involved with organizations, vendors, different services. We have to do that on an everyday basis, doing our patrols, during every case that we work on…. I would like my officers to act [toward] every citizen they encounter the way they would want their own parents to be treated.”
He added that the MRC des Collines presents a unique experience for the police department.
“Policing in the National Capital Region is different than anywhere else in Quebec or Ontario – anywhere else in Canada. The Ottawa area is the fourth-largest conglomeration in Canada. And we have on our territory federal institutions and second residents of the prime ministers – a lot of different aspects [to consider],” he explained.
“It’s important to have a partnership with everyone,” Charbonneau continued, adding, “I’ve always handled policing in a partnership way, and I intend to continue to do that.”
New chief says community policing a priority Read More »
