When someone arrives in a position of leadership, one of the objectives should always be to leave the job in a better position than when they found it.
In the case of Rich Lowen – the outgoing chief of police in Estevan – he should honestly be able to say the Estevan Police Service is in a better state now than when he arrived in the fall of 2021. Most people would likely agree with that statement.
The challenges facing the Estevan Police Service before Lowen's arrival were well documented, not only in the Mercury but in a report released in October 2022 that was critical of the EPS's workplace culture and more. It should be noted the report ended on an upbeat note thanks to Lowen's efforts in his first few months in the city, along with changes that took place with the Estevan board of police commissioners.
Lowen was tasked with rebuilding morale, regaining the community's trust in the Estevan police and creating an overall better police force. He succeeded. When faced with an unthinkable situation last November involving not just a murder but the shooting of a police officer, Lowen handled it well.
Being a police chief is not an easy job. For starters, it's a high-profile job in a community, whether you're in a small city like Estevan or a large centre like Regina or Saskatoon. You're never really off duty and you could be forced to handle a difficult situation on a moment's notice – sometimes when you should be sleeping or enjoying family time. Naysayers are everywhere.
You have to be effective at budgeting, you have to build relationships inside and outside of the community, you need to have to have the backs of the members but you also have to hold them accountable when necessary.
Were mistakes made during his tenure? Of course. Does he want some mulligans? Definitely. No law enforcement agency is perfect. But Lowen can look back on his time in Estevan and think he generally did a pretty good job.
The Estevan board of police commissioners now finds itself in a position they likely didn't expect: trying to find Lowen's replacement less than three years after he arrived. The mandate should be to hire someone who has similar attributes. Those people don't grow on trees. Only a select few officers get to become a chief; even fewer prove to be effective.
There might have been some temptation to wait until after the next civic election to hire Lowen's replacement; after all, we're only a few months away from the vote, and we know there will be a new mayor after Nov. 13. Some might make the case it should be the new police board that hires a new chief.
But Lowen's last day is Aug. 31. The next civic election is Nov. 13. From there, it would likely take a few months to hire and bring in a new police chief. And you could potentially have one or two new members on the police board.
They will have a lot to learn as it is, as being on the police board is the closest thing to being on city council. The new members don't need to have hiring a new police chief added to their learning curve.
The new chief will face challenges. The recent community survey shows that trust and satisfaction with the police is lower than in 2019, although it's still at a pretty good level. We have challenges facing our community, from never-ending issues like drugs and impaired driving, to a spike in thefts and mischief incidents in the first half of this year.
The thefts under $5,000 might not seem like much, but those are the crimes that force people to lock doors and feel a little more nervous.
There is also a segment of the community that would like to see the number of officers reduced considerably.
It's going to be interesting to see who is hired to be the next chief, and how that person will look to place their stamp on the EPS while still juggling all of the tasks associated with the job.
