Coun. Tasha Henderson will soon become New Westminster city’s council’s representative on the police board.
At its June 24 meeting, Mayor Patrick Johnstone read out a decision that stated Henderson be appointed to the New Westminster Police Board effective July 1, 2024.
“We don't need a motion to support that,” he said. “It is just an item that came forward from closed.”
No one on council commented on the decision, but the Record contacted Johnstone and Henderson for comment.
“I have complete confidence that Tasha will be a great addition to the police board,” Johnstone said in a statement to the Record. “She has a demonstrated drive to make public process work better for the community they serve. She has a long professional history of working with youth who have been impacted by the criminal justice system and has been demonstrating proactive leadership in her work with the Building Safer Communities working group.”
Henderson said shes honoured to be appointed to the police board and to serve the community in this way.
“I really want to support the board’s efforts to become more transparent and present in the community,” she said. “Few people know what the police board does or who they are, and they are responsible for a large part of the city’s budget. I want us to open that up so that people have a better understanding of where their tax dollars go.”
Henderson said the board will be hiring a new police chief, so it’s an exciting time to take on this role.
“Some people may not know this about me, but I have a lot of experience working in and around the justice system,” she told the Record. “I’ve worked in Victim Services, on human trafficking and sexual exploitation, with youth under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and as an instructor teaching legislation like the YCJA at Douglas College. I sit on the Burnaby-New Westminster Sexual Exploitation Task Force and have been proud to champion the city’s work on the Building Safer Communities file, which is closely tied to the Ministries of Public Safety both provincially and federally.”
The province has made amendments to the Police Act regarding police governance of police boards. Municipal councils must how determine who will be their representative on the police board and police boards can now elect their chair and vice-chair.
Historically, New Westminster’s mayor has automatically been city council’s representative to the police board and has served as its chair. Johnstone has chaired the police board since the 2022 civic election.
“I have enjoyed my time on the police board and learned a lot,” Johnstone said. “I feel the board is on a good path toward modernization of its governance, and we have a good mix of people on there who take the work seriously. New West is well-served by the board.”
The issue of police board membership and governance arose at last week’s police board meeting. At that time, Johnstone told the board council was required to appoint its representative to the police board before the end of July.
Johnstone also noted that the police board is required to elect a chair from its membership before the end of July. He said that will be the first item of business at the board’s meeting in July.
“I know that council and the NWPD have many shared goals when it comes to the outcomes we want for this community, and I’m excited to work more collaboratively with the board and members of the NWPD on figuring out how to best meet our community’s needs to ensure that we are collectively working toward the vision that New West is a place where everyone can thrive,” Henderson said.
