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Stephanie Johanssen often is met with blank stares when she tells people what she does for a living.
In her previous role as the executive director of the Vancouver Police board, Johanssen said it was common for people she encountered to have no prior knowledge of the civilian body responsible for overseeing policing in Canada’s third-largest city.
But Johanssen was more than happy to provide a crash course on police governance and the important role civilian boards play in promoting accountability and transparency in law enforcement.
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“I did it in Vancouver and I really plan to do it in London, making people aware of the role of the police board as an oversight body, as a separate civilian entity, independent from the police department,” she said. “They’re there to support the service on behalf of the community.”
The Vancouver native was hired as the executive director of the London police board after a recruitment agency was brought in to conduct a Canadawide search to fill the role left vacant after the recent retirement of Jennifer Foster, who held the job for 14 years.
“We wanted to bring in a skill set, talent, background, expertise that reflects the vision where the board wants to take the service,” board chair Ali Chahbar said of the reason for hiring Johanssen.
The seven-member board also decided to change the name of the role from administrator to executive director, mirroring other big-city police boards, Chahbar said.
After a career in financial services, Johanssen was hired by the Vancouver police department in 2011, working stints in various departments including the professional standards branch, where she gained a strong understanding of civilian oversight and conflict management.
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Johanssen spent nearly four years as the executive director of the police board before moving to Toronto to be closer to family – she has four sisters and two brothers – and continue her education.
“I was kind of on the fence of rejoining the world of police governance, but then this opportunity came up and I looked into it,” she said of the London job.
Meeting with the police board and hearing about it’s commitment to pushing for change in policing and its community-driven approach sealed the deal, Johanssen said. “For me it was really exciting to be part of transformational change.”
dcarruthers@postmedia.com
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