RECORDING: *Non-Member Pricing* 2022 August - Lessons Learned from a Pandemic
Providing adequate police services to our communities is challenging. During the past two years, police services have been challenged even more by COVID-19, requiring massive operational changes to enable front-line staff to provide citizens with the services they require.
Presented by the Canadian Association of Police Governance (CAPG), this live webinar provides police board and commission members and other police leaders with an overview of how one service made these big changes. Chief Constable Mark Neufeld will take attendees through some of the most critical aspects of his leadership, both during the early days of the pandemic and now, almost three years later.
In this session, attendees will receive practical advice as Chief Constable Mark Neufeld shares some of the challenges and successes the CPS has faced. The lessons learned from this unprecedented event will be explored in terms of public safety, the role of the police, and community expectations. Attendees can expect to leave the session with practical strategies that can be applied now during the current COVID-19 pandemic as well as in future public health crises.
Chief Constable Neufeld believes strongly in providing top-quality police service to the community throu gh professionalism, innovation, and inclusive leadership that is supportive of employees. The women and men – both sworn and civilian – who deliver frontline police service have been particularly special to him throughout his career and his priority is to serve and protect not only the community, but also those who commit themselves to serving and protecting the community.
Neufeld joined the Calgary Police Service in 2019 after serving as the Chief of the Camrose Police Service, a smaller community that gave him the opportunity to build strong partnerships with staff and residents to improve quality of life in the city.
Neufeld is well and positively connected within police circles provincially, nationally, and internationally. He is currently on the executive board of the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police, Chair of the ALERT board of directors, and a member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police board of directors.
Neufeld recently completed a Masters in criminology and police management at the University of Cambridge. He has also completed the CACP Executive Global Studies program, where he studied international approaches to cybercrime, and the International Executive Development in Policing program from the Canadian Police College and Hong Kong Police College. Upon completion, he was invited to join the faculty of this program where he led a syndicate of senior police leaders from both Canada and Hong Kong through the program.
In 1992, Neufeld’s police career began with the Vancouver Police Department. The illness of a parent brought him to the Edmonton Police Service the following year. He spent 12 years as a frontline patrol officer, including in Edmonton’s diverse inner-city where he worked with residents and community partners to address neighbourhood crime, disorder, and social issues. He also has experience in undercover operations, incident command, crisis negotiation, and as a member of the EPS Public Order Unit working on the G-8 and G-20 summits, Stanley Cup and Grey Cup deployments, as well as the 2006 riot.
Neufeld was promoted to the role of detective in Internal Affairs in 2004 and to Staff Sergeant in the Intelligence Section in 2007. A secondment in 2007 brought him to the Province of Alberta where he successfully assisted with the implementation of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT).
In 2010, he was promoted to the rank of Inspector and assigned to Professional Standards where he led the development of a strategic planning process that resulted in the restructuring of the branch, the civilianization of numerous investigative and administrative positions, and an increased emphasis on alternative dispute resolution and complaint prevention.
Along the way, Neufeld made sure staff were actively engaged in setting direction and priorities. He celebrated successes and acknowledged the efforts of individuals and teams.
As an Inspector, he also spent time in the Human Resources Division where he developed a recruitment strategy for the police service before being seconded to ASIRT for a second time as the Director of Investigations.
In 2014, Neufeld was promoted to Superintendent, Criminal Investigations Division, where he was responsible for all EPS major and serious crime units, including homicide, missing persons, robbery, arson, sexual assault, child protection, domestic conflict, Integrated Child Exploitation (ICE), elder abuse, economic crimes, auto theft and support units including the Child at Risk Response Team (CARRT) and the Police and Crisis Team (PACT). In this role, he made it a priority to encourage strong working relationships between frontline officers and specialized investigative units.
Two years later, Neufeld moved back to operations as Superintendent of the Southwest Division, a large, diverse area of Edmonton that stretched from the University district to the southern city limits. In this role, he made a point of being visible, accessible, and approachable. He applied an approach to problem solving that involved encouraging open and honest conversations, and moved the division forward through patience, compassion and consistency.
Neufeld then transitioned to Chief of the Camrose Police Service where he held his position for two years before joining the Calgary Police Service.
Neufeld was invested as a member of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces in 2014. He is also the recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Police Exemplary Service Medal, and the Alberta Law Enforcement Long Service Medal.
