It’s official. The City of Belleville’s police service has a new Deputy Chief of Police.
Although he started his new duties on January 1, Inspector Chris Barry wasn’t sworn in until Monday because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Deputy Chief Barry was sworn in by Mr. Justice Stephen Hunter at the new Belleville Police Service headquarters. Justice Hunter has presided over dozens of swearing-in ceremonies for the Belleville Police Service over the years.
“I’ve known Chris for his entire career and he was an excellent choice for the Deputy Chief’s job,” said Justice Hunter.
Master of Ceremonies was the Chair of the Belleville Police Service Board Jack Miller who described the many different roles Barry has played since joining the service in 1992 adding that besides his work Barry has volunteered on many boards and committees in the community.
The Mayor of Belleville Mitch Panciuk said the community was proud of its police service, which is one of the oldest in Ontario being in existence for well over 200 years.
Panciuk said Deputy Chief Barry will play a big role in helping it to continue to evolve.
“We know that along with Chief Callaghan you will continue to improve our service while at the same time retain the crucial access that will help make Belleville the safest community in Ontario.”
Chief of Police Mike Callaghan noted that during Barry’s long career with the service he has received well over 25 letters of commendation and thanks from members of the community.
“It wasn’t just a matter of helping the citizens, he wanted to ensure he was going above and beyond. It would have been very easy for him to just do the job but Chris rose well above those expectations. And he always did so by responding in a very caring and compassionate way.”
For his part, Deputy Chief Barry thanked some of the officers who’d helped him as he began his policing career which has been spent entirely with the Belleville Police Service.
He had special thanks for the support of his family, presenting his wife Joanne with a bouquet of flowers and making mention of his two children.
He said he was sure that in future the police service would enjoy many successes but also a few mistakes along the way.
“… but I can guarantee one thing to everybody in the community and that’s that these missteps or mistakes will not occur due to a lack of effort or indifference. We are absolutely committed to maximizing the quality of life for all of the members of our community.”
Deputy Chief Barry said he’d continue to work to make Belleville a welcoming community for all people and that the service would not stop its efforts to put an end to the deadly opioid crisis affecting so many.
Chief of Police for the Belleville Police Service Mike Callaghan (left) shakes hands with Deputy Chief Chris Barry. (Photo: Jack Miller/Quinte News)
