Contact information:bps.board@bellevilleps.ca

The Belleville Police Service Board is a five-member civilian board that governs the Belleville Police Service. Under the Police Services Act, the Board is responsible for providing adequate and effective police services to the citizens of the City of  Belleville .

The Belleville Police Service Board has five members: two Provincial appointees, two Council appointees, and one member of the community as appointed by Council. 

The Belleville Police Services Board is comprised of Chair Heather Smith, Vice Chair Barbara Enright-Miller, Mayor Neil Ellis, James O’Brien, Janet Harnden, and Board Secretary Jennifer McTavish.

The Board provides direction and guidance to the Belleville Police Service while ensuring that adequate and effective police services are provided in accordance with the needs of the municipality. 

As civilian community members who represent the public’s interests, the Police Service Board is committed to a high quality of community-based policing and excellence in police governance. The Board recognizes the challenges to law enforcement created by a changing environment, demographic shifts, emerging technologies, and evolving crime trends and patterns. 

Duties of the Board 

The responsibilities of the Police Service Board are outlined in section 31 (1) of  Ontario ‘s Police Services Act: 

• Appoint the members of the municipal police force 
• Generally determine, after consultation with the chief of police, objectives and priorities with respect to police services in the municipality 
• Establish policies for the effective management of the police force 
• Recruit and appoint the chief of police and any deputy chief of police, and annually determine their remuneration and working conditions, taking their submissions into account 
• Direct the chief of police and monitor his or her performance 
• Establish policies respecting the disclosure by chiefs of police of personal information about individuals 
• Receive regular reports from the chief of police on disclosures and decisions made under section 49 (secondary activities) 
• Establish guidelines with respect to the indemnification of members of the police force for legal costs under section 50 
• Establish guidelines for dealing with complaints made under Part V 
• Review the chief of police’s administration of the complaints system under Part V and receive regular reports from the chief of police on his or her administration of the complaints system 

With the support of the citizens of the City of  Belleville the Police Service Board is confident of meeting future policing challenges in the years ahead.