New Prince Albert police chief aims to 'earn the trust' of the community

The new Prince Albert police chief said he plans to make integrity and communication within the force a priority.

Patrick Nogier has become the chief of police with the Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) after serving nearly five months as interim chief.

“I will do everything I can to earn the trust of the public,” he told media on Monday.

The former 30-year veteran with the Saskatoon Police Service is taking over after Chief Jonathan Bergen stepped down in the wake of scathing allegations of misconduct against two Prince Albert officers by the provincial police watchdog.

Nogier said the commission was starting to look at the possibilities of him staying long-term.

“We were able to kind of discuss what the future of the organization looks like, and found a happy medium,” he said.

Nogier said during his time as interim chief, he has worked to implement new technology and ensure the force is better equipped to respond to calls. He said internal relations between management and the association have improved.

“The organization already knows what it needed to do to get to the next step. All it needed was someone to facilitate it,” he said.

Greg Dionne, mayor of Prince Albert and vice-chair on the board of police commissioners, said he is excited to see Nogier step into this role.

“He brings new ideas, new thoughts on how to run things, a new perspective, and I think that’s what our city needs,” Dionne told media on Monday.

Nogier said a large factor in his decision to take on the new role was the ability to use his experience to help members of the force.

“The men and women that put the uniform on, they do it for the right reasons, and they do it because they want to make a difference in the community,” Nogier said.

He said officers often deal with complex issues and limited resources.

“Prince Albert is a unique city to police because it has big city issues, homelessness, addictions, transiency, criminal activity, and it may not have all the same support mechanisms,” he said.

“We’re going to do everything we can to enhance their toolkit so they’re making very good competent decisions,” Nogier said.