New chief for WRPS

Former chief of the Guelph Police Service, Bryan Larkin, has officially taken his post as Waterloo Regional Police Service’s new chief.

Larkin started his policing career in the Region of Waterloo as an officer in 1991 and served the region until 2011. He left in 2011 to pursue the position of deputy chief of police in Guelph, which he held for a year before becoming chief.

“This is where I started my career, assigned to division one patrol, which at the time was responsible for policing in the Kitchener area and the City of Kitchener downtown,” said Larkin.

Larkin, like many young people interested in policing, was drawn to the action and service aspects of being a community officer.

“I was looking to do something that made a difference,” he said. “I didn’t find myself to be someone who would do the same thing every day or be inside, and policing is action oriented.”

Larkin also had mentors who were police officers and he saw the duty they served as making a difference in the community.

“At the end of the day, they were preserving the right for all. I just thought it was a great opportunity for me and I never looked back. It’s something I’ve immensely enjoyed,” said Larkin.

When the chief of police position became available at WRPS earlier this year Larkin decided to express an interest in coming back to the region, after having already experienced helming a police force.

“The position became open and they were seeking applications of interest, and I expressed my interest and decided to give this an opportunity to see whether or not it was feasible to become chief,” said Larkin.

With almost two weeks into the position, Chief Larkin has been busy at work, meeting both with other police leaders and members of the community. The first week has been fast-paced with lots of action.

“It’s a little surreal. I’m still wondering whether this is a dream or real,” He said. “I think with anything when you come into a new organization you have to figure out what you’re doing and get going.”

He expressed a desire to approach his new position with an open mind, with his main goals being to reconnect with the membership of WRPS, and understand what the priorities, challenges and opportunities of the police force are. Once the operational strategy is formulated, he will start planning the logistics of the upcoming year.

“This is an organization and community I’m very familiar with,” said Larkin.

“My main goal is to really listen, and listen to our membership and community as to what our priorities are.”