News
Paul Bastien named next Deputy Chief of the London Police Service

May 25, 2023, London, Ont. – The London Police Services Board is pleased to announce the appointment of LPS Superintendent Paul Bastien as London’s next Deputy Chief of Police, effective May 28, 2023, following Deputy Chief Stu Betts’ resignation to become Peterborough’s Chief of Police in January, 2023.

Deputy Chief Designate Bastien began his policing career in 1997, as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police posted to Prince George Detachment in northern British Columbia. In 2001, he returned to Southwestern Ontario to join the London Police Service.

In 2006, he was assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division, where he would go on to spend almost half of his 25-year career in various capacities, most recently as Detective Inspector in charge of the Investigative Services Branch overseeing the Major Crime Section, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Section, General Investigations Section, and the Guns and Gangs Section. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Ontario Homicide Investigators Association and has represented the London Police Service on management teams overseeing multi-agency joint forces operations in the areas of human trafficking, cannabis enforcement, and provincial weapons enforcement.

Deputy Chief Designate Bastien has also worked in the Professional Standards Branch and other areas throughout the organization supporting front-line operations including human resources, where he directed recruitment and selection processes and the administration of disability management and return to work programs. He most recently served as Division Commander overseeing teams of sworn and civilian members performing functions related to training and professional development, research and planning, risk management and quality assurance, evidence-based policing, and business analytics.

Deputy Chief Designate Bastien holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminology from the University of Windsor and a certificate in police leadership from the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management.

Deputy Chief Designate Bastien says, “I’m honoured to have been selected as Deputy Chief of the London Police Service and grateful to the Board for entrusting me to perform that important role. Our organization is comprised of talented and hard-working men and women dedicated to ensuring the safety of this community, and I am sincerely humbled to be provided this opportunity to serve them to that end.”

Bastien continues, “I look forward to continued collaboration with the London Police Association, and to strengthening relationships with community partners who share our commitment to enhancing the safety and wellbeing of all throughout the city of London.

I am very pleased to work with Chief Truong, Deputy Chief McIntyre and the entire senior management team in building on the work started by others before us to make the London Police Service a more responsive, inclusive, and caring organization in service to the community.”

Board Chair, Ali Chahbar says, “Deputy Chief Designate Bastien is an accomplished and well-respected member of the London Police Service. With a career spanning over 25 years in policing, over two decades of which have been with the London Police Service, he has established himself as an important and valued member of the senior management team. In his new role as Deputy Chief, he will continue the important work of advancing and modernizing the London Police Service to meet the demands of the community it serves. On behalf of the London Police Services Board, we congratulate Deputy Chief Designate Bastien and wish him well in his new role.”

The London Police Services Board is the civilian body responsible for governing the London Police Service. It is responsible for the provision of adequate and effective police services to the City of London’s population of approximately 392,900.