Weyburn's Deputy Chief of Police, Brent VanDeSype, has now taken on the role of Interim Chief of Police for the Weyburn Police Service.
He said he worked well with the former Police Chief Jamie Blunden, who will be the new Police Chief for the Estevan Police Service beginning in October.
"He did a lot of good things here at the service and, of course, going down the road to Estevan, we'll continue to be working together, it's a very similar service to ours and we share some of our resources, such as our JTST team and stuff like that," he commented. "I definitely wish him well."
VanDeSype said whether his interim role is short-term or long-term, he looks forward to working with the WPS team, the Police Commission board, and City Management.
"I think I've got a good working relationship with them, and I look forward to carrying that forward."
He noted he has had the opportunity to sit in on the Police Commission meetings as Deputy Chief, with the Chief leading the meetings. "So I'm aware of what a meeting entails, but as far as prepping all the reports and stuff like that, that will be new to me. So I'm getting my feet wet and I accept the challenge."
VanDeSype will likely be overseeing some big changes coming to the WPS, such as platform changes for SGI and the police reporting system, as well as the digital Next Generation 911 system.
"We're in a technological world where things change fast, and there's a lot of changes and challenges that we'll be facing moving forward, as is every municipal agency. We have to gather the information, see what options we have, and decide what route we're going to take, which hopefully is the best route possible."
He said this involves changing equipment, upgrading software, and training personnel.
As far as how the new 911 system will impact things at police headquarters here in Weyburn, he said, "With all the changes that are coming, Weyburn will always have policing 24/7. There will never be volunteer police or anything like that. Our policing will stay at a high level of policing and it will always be 24/7."
Overall, VanDeSype said he has some different reporting duties, as well as some different meetings, many of which he was already attending.
"But it's definitely a new role for me. I'm up for the challenge, and it's going to be a bit of a learning curve, but I feel that we've got a real good service here. Weyburn is not in jeopardy. We're lucky to have the service that we have here and I look forward to the challenge and I look forward to working with our board."