Vincent Thomas Bevan is a retired Canadian police officer who served as the

chief of police A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the command hierarchy, chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or somet ...

of the

Ottawa Police Service The Ottawa Police Service (OPS; French: ''Service de police d'Ottawa'') is the municipal police service of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, as well as most of the north east Ontario side of the National Capital Region. As of 2022, this police service ...

from April 2000 to March 2007. He led one of the largest police services in Canada and was one of only six Canadian chiefs in the Major Cities Chiefs Association.

Career

Bevan began his career as a police officer in July 1973. Before moving to Ottawa in 1998, he was part of the

Niagara Regional Police Service The Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) is a Regional police#Canada, regional police service maintained by the Regional Municipality of Niagara in the Canadian province of Ontario. As of 2021, the force employed 774 sworn police officers and 3 ...

. During his career he had the chance to experience multiple assignments as uniform patrol, motorcycle patrol, special projects and criminal investigations. Bevan was also a member of the Emergency Task Force for five years. He was heading the Green Ribbon task force, notably during the period of the

Paul Bernardo Paul Kenneth Bernardo (born August 27, 1964), also known as Paul Jason Teale, is a Canadian serial rapist and serial killer dubbed the Scarborough Rapist, the Schoolgirl Killer and, together with his former wife Karla Homolka, one of the Ken an ...

high-profile murders of two teenage girls, Kristen French and

Leslie Mahaffy Leslie Erin Mahaffy (July 5, 1976 – June 16, 1991) was a 14-year-old Canadian girl and the second murder victim of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. At the time of her death, she was a resident of Burlington, Ontario, and a Grade 9 student at M ...

in the early 1990s. In March 1998, he became deputy chief of the Operations Support division and in April 2000, he became chief of the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police. In January 2001, he became the chief of the new

as a result of the municipal amalgamation. In 2003, Vince Bevan was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Police Forces The Order of Merit of the Police Forces () is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the only such fellowship reserved for only members of Canada's various police forces. Created in 2000, the order is administered by ...

by the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

. Vince Bevan holds a bachelor's degree from

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

in business and politics. He successfully completed a number of courses at both the

Ontario Police College The Ontario Police College (OPC) is a police academy located in Malahide Township, just east of Aylmer, in Elgin County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. History The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) proposed the idea of a centra ...

and the Canadian Police College and holds certificates in police management studies, advanced police studies, and general police studies. He is also a graduate of the National Executive Institute at the

FBI Academy The FBI Academy is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's law enforcement training and research center near the town of Quantico in Prince William County, Virginia. The academy occupies 547 acres (221 ha) on the US Marine Corps Base Quantico. It ...

in the United States. Chief Bevan is an active member of a number of associations, boards and committees such as: * Vice-president of the

Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) is a national political lobbying organization for police executives in Canada. It was founded in 1905 as the ''Chief Constables Association of Canada'' and adopted the current name in the early 1 ...

* Ontario Centre of Forensic Sciences Advisory Board * Major Cities Chiefs * Ottawa Big Brothers and Sisters * Interfaith Ottawa * Ottawa Distress Center *

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

On March 9, 2004, he admitted Ottawa Police's role in

Maher Arar Maher Arar () (born 1970) is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who has resided in Canada since 1987. Arar was detained during a layover at John F. Kennedy International Airport in September 2002 on his way ...

case of deportation and torture in Syria. The Canadian Commission of Inquiry, led by Dennis O'Connor, later revealed details about the Ottawa Police role in the affair. The final report exonerated Arar of all the accusations against him and pointed out to the role the police forces had in the case. On December 6, 2006, RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli resigned from his post as Commissioner effective December 15, 2006, following the Report of the commission. In July 2006, Vince Bevan announced that he would retire as Ottawa's police chief, officially ending his term, on March 31, 2007.

Durham Regional Police Service The Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) is the police service operated by and serving the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The DRPS has a strength of over 900 sworn officers and over 300 unsworn members, and serves the following ...

Chief and former RCMP officer Vernon White was appointed as Bevan's replacement.

References

External links

Official biography

Announcement of retirement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, Vince Ottawa police chiefs Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Officers of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces Brock University alumni