Blais reflects on his time as Halifax Chief of Police

Jean-Michel Blais has been Chief of Police in Halifax since 2012, and will serve his last day on April 11.

Although he hasn't officially had a hand in selecting the his successor — aside from writing the job description — Blais does have an idea of who might have applied.

“The advantage of having me not be involved, is I did have several people contact me and ask questions about the job,” Blais tells NEWS95.7's Sheldon MacLeod in an interview.

He says he was pleased with the amount of interest considering how many Chief of Police jobs are available across the country right now.

“Edmonton just staffed their new chief, Calgary just named theirs, Gatineau did the same,” Blais says. “Lots of movement out there in the police chief world.”

The new HRP chief has not been announced yet, but Blais says that once they are, he will spend a few days getting them up to speed.

“I'll be available if there's any questions, and I'm sure there will be,” Blais says, adding that he's also preparing a turnover package for the incoming chief.

One of the major debates during Blais' tenure will come to a head on March 27, when the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission releases its report on street checks.

“What really interests me the most is the recommendations that will come about from that,” says Blais.

The independent report has been headed by Dr. Scot Wortley, a University of Toronto criminology professor.

“The concerns of the community are very legitimate. It's less about statistics and it's more about the quality of the individual interactions that occur on a daily basis with police,” Blais says. “If you're in a marginalized community, you can't help but look at a police officer as being part of [an] oppressive culture.”

When asked what he wishes he had time to do while still chief, Blais talks about online security.

“Some of the concerns I have are around cyber criminality and cyber crime overall,” he says, “That's something that's going to come out more and more I think in the years to come.”

Overall, he's happy with the progress made during his years as head of HRP, but Blais hopes the incoming chief will go even further.

“My hope is that they're going to be able to go to the next level and get the organization to where it can be,” he says.

The last event Blais will attend as Chief of Police will be the Halifax volunteer awards and appreciation dinner on April 10.

Blais says he has no plans to leave Halifax after he retires, and plans to start consulting on policing and public safety.