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The Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) is welcoming a new chief from within the organization. Bill Fordy, served as deputy chief for six years, after decades with the RCMP in B.C. Niagara’s new Police Chief was born in Sudbury, grew up in Oshawa, and was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in 1983. But the 9th round pick hung up his skates before making it to the NHL. “I broke my hand twice…my collarbone…I decided it was enough, I still play, just not professional” Chief Fordy said. He says he didn’t have any plans of being a police officer after his hockey career ended…it just happened, “when I was done playing hockey I went to school…there was a gentleman in the RCMP and he said you’d be a really great member…those worlds resonated with me because I was a team guy in team sports all my life.” Fordy joined the RCMP and worked his way up through the ranks in B.C. over 28 years. He worked on some pretty high profile cases, such as the Robert Pickton investigation. Fordy interviewed “the pig farmer killer” for 11 hours after he was arrested. “I worked on that, air India investigation, I worked on a number of serial killer and contract killer investigations,” Fordy said, “it might be the most high profile, but it wasn’t the most meaningful or impactful.” The 58-year-old says he was recruited by the NRPS 6 years ago, and because his two children were in university in the province, it was the right time to move back to Ontario. As deputy chief, Fordy came under fire by local anti-racism groups in 2020 when he suggested systemic racism isn’t an issue in the NRPS. “I’ve been quite open that it was a learning opportunity for me that I’ve acknowledged in and outside the organization that there are systemic barriers…and I’ve had things afforded to me as a white male that others have not.” The new chief says the crime rate in the Niagara region is going up, and some of the main issues the area is seeing are homelessness, drug addiction, and guns. “The nature of crime across the country seeing an increase in gun violence, things related to social disorder, drug addiction, homelessness, mental health, and those issues will continue to be an issue for law enforcement agencies” Chief Fordy said. Chief Fordy says as the population of the Niagara region increases, crimes the area didn’t see 10 years ago like auto theft, are beginning to happen regularly now.