BY: DAN ARSENAULT
Source: thechronicleherald.ca
 "Jean-Michel Blais is the new chief superintendent of the Halifax RCMP.(Eric Wynne / Staff)")
Jean-Michel Blais is the new chief superintendent of the Halifax RCMP.(Eric Wynne / Staff)Blais to push for more collaboration between Mounties, regional force..
The new leader of Halifax RCMP said his force plans on keeping a closer eye on prolific offenders.
Chief Supt. Jean-Michel Blais, who spoke to the media Tuesday, said he fully supports a growing police trend to continually check in on offenders who have been released under house arrest, probation or other conditions.
"If we can target the offender, as opposed to targeting the crime, that will go a long way in helping us to reduce crime and criminality in our community," Blais said in an interview at his Gottingen Street office.
"We’re going to be visiting them a lot more often."
Blais’s predecessor, Supt. Darrell Beaton, had been in charge of the Halifax RCMP since July 2008.
The RCMP’s 195 officers and 31 civilian employees work with about 470 Halifax Regional Police officers and that force’s 230 civilian employees.
Halifax RCMP operate five offices in outlying areas of the municipality — Cole Harbour, Lower Sackville, Musquodoboit Harbour, Sheet Harbour and Upper Tantallon — and contribute members to integrated specialized units that include regional police officers.
Blais, 48, a 24-year member of the force, lives with his wife and three children in Hammonds Plains.
He started his career in the Quebec City area and has worked with the United Nations in Haiti and investigated international organized crime, including outlaw motorcycle gangs and Colombia drug cartels.
Blais said he plans to increase the RCMP’s collaboration with the regional force and said he is in constant communication with Chief Frank Beazley, who heads it.
The chief superintendent also hopes to increase communication with citizens. He said his force has started a Facebook page, will enhance its website and intends to hold community engagement sessions, which will replace the old town hall-style meetings.
"My biggest goal in a year’s time is to ensure that policing in this city is better than it is right now, not to say that it is not good right now."
