New London police chief to be announced Monday

The London police can expect to know its new top boss on Monday.

The London Police Services Board confirms they will be announcing their next chief of police at a press conference Monday morning.

Chair of the board Ali Chahbar had said last week an announcement was imminent, likely to come before April ended. However, slight delays pushed back the unveiling to the first of May.

Former chief of police Steve Williams announced his retirement last year, and his final day on active duty was Feb. 24. His retirement will take effect on Monday.

Deputy chief Trish McIntyre became acting police chief on Feb. 25, the first woman in London’s history to hold the top position. McIntyre has confirmed she applied for the chief of police job.

Chahbar told Global News the police board, which is currently down one member, conducted three rounds of interviews with applicants.

As applicants for the position came both locally and from across the country, the first round of interviews was completed in person and virtually. As the number of applicants was whittled down in each successive round, Chabar says the interviews moved to entirely in person.

The police board is also in the process of hiring a new deputy police chief, as former deputy chief of operations Stu Betts left the force late last year to become the chief of police in Peterborough.

While Chahbar said he is unsure if an announcement of Betts’ replacement can be expected at the same time as the chief position, the notice from the police board on Friday made no mention of the deputy chief position.