Council approved the swearing in of the new chief of police for New Glasgow – Chief Eric MacNeil.
After he was officially sworn in as chief at the regular May 14 meeting, MacNeil said his priorities include updating and modernizing policies to adapt to new legal realities t in 2018, including the upcoming legalization of marijuana and the need for newer laws to deal with cybercrime.
“We have to prepare ourselves for the future… for all the new things that are most challenging most police services today,” said MacNeil.
MacNeil added that other challenges he anticipates is maintaining solid police services in the community in an era when municipal budgets are strained and the costs of policing are skewing upward.
“That’s something we have to adapt to,” he said. “We’re looking at probably doing more, and under the same budgets.”
MacNeil has spent 42 years policing the community of New Glasgow, and served as deputy chief for 10 years, working in the town’s major crime unit, criminal intelligence department – and on general patrol.
MacNeil noted that he intends to retire in two years, but “I am looking forward to the next two years, after reaching the pinnacle of my career.”
