The West Vancouver Police Department has a new police chief.
Len Goerke, currently the Abbotsford Police Department's deputy chief, will take over as West Vancouver' chief constable officially on Aug. 5. West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith, chair of the West Vancouver Police Board, said Goerke was chosen for his extensive experience in senior management roles, his "hands on" experience and background in human resources.
The board has been on a recruitment campaign since Chief Const. Peter Lepine announced in February that he would step down. The announcement followed the leak of an internal report that found WVPD was suffering from low morale, in part, because of a culture that tolerated bullying, sexual harassment and racism.
Goerke will step into his new position as top cop in West Vancouver while those issues are apparently still simmering.
Since media attention focused on the department, two more allegations of internal harassment have been received, outgoing police chief Peter Lepine confirmed.
Lepine did not provide details but said investigators from outside the department have been asked to look into the allegations, made by people who still work for the department. Smith said there will be no tolerance for inappropriate behaviour.
"We've had some unfortunate incidents in the past that we want to put behind us," he said.
Lepine said the department is continuing to work on solutions to low morale pointed out in last year's employee survey, which pointed to widespread dissatisfaction with upper management.
In March, two senior officers - Insp. Barry Nickerson and Insp. Mike Rattray - left the department after abruptly announcing their retirements.
Another long-term member of management team, Insp. Wayne Giesbrecht, left the department in March of 2013.
Smith confirmed West Vancouver made "substantial" payments to departing managers under the terms of their contracts, but said the cost will not impact the overall police budget. He said money has been saved through not immediately filling some vacancies as well as through "internal efficiencies."
Goerke has been with the Abbotsford police since 1987. Most recently he has been overseeing human resource, finance, budgets and professional standards for the municipal force.
In a phone interview, Goerke said he's aware of the recent media attention surrounding the West Vancouver Police, but added the department has been in existence for 100 years and has a solid reputation. "There are a lot of really good things about the West Vancouver Police Department," he said.
Goerke said he won't know if there's an underlying problem until he spends time learning about the department and listening to those who work there.
Despite internal divisions, the West Vancouver Police Department has received high marks from citizens in surveys and consistently has one of the lowest crime rates in the province.
When he leaves his post in August, Lepine said he'll take some downtime before considering his next move. But he's already ruled out one future career path, taken by previous West Vancouver police chief Kash Heed.
"I'm not going into politics," he said.
