THUNDER BAY — The new executive director of the Thunder Bay Police Service Board said she is looking forward to stepping into the role with a focus on organization and accountability to ensure members have the support they need to carry out their work.
“My job is to come in and help them stay organized and help guide that work with them and be a support, and I’m really looking forward to that and use some of my systemic leadership skills to help them implement those obligations,” said Christy Radbourne, who officially started with the police board on Tuesday.
A former federal law enforcement professional in the U.S., Radbourne has two decades of experience in public education in Northwestern Ontario and a decade in investigative service with multiple U.S. agencies. The board said it could not elaborate on the nature of Radbourne’s enforcement roles due to the confidential nature of the work involved.
She said the accountability measures the board has already implemented are something she will work to build on.
“I think the public confidence is strengthening. I do believe that. I think that the board is already making strides with regard to the recommendations that were made.”
These recommendations from the strategic plan include priorities with regards to crime prevention and reduction as well as public trust and confidence.
“What’s next is to ensure that (the public) can see how we’re making those strides towards them, and that’s my job is to help the board get that great word out there,” she said.
She said that while it’s been 25 years since she’s worked in law enforcement, the experience gave her a perspective that has influenced her leadership skills.
“I understand how systems need to move . . . and setting up accountability structures and systems, how we can monitor our strategic plan and really most importantly ensure that we are being accountable to our community.”
She said the board has a number of mandates to implement under the reports of former police board administrator Malcolm Mercer and late Sen. Murray Sinclair for the Ontario Civilian Police Commission.
“(The board) works regularly with the province, including their supervisor at this time, and my job from a systemic perspective is to really help stay organized, help make sure those reports are ready and on time that we’re making accountable to the public and to the province and our communities.”
Radbourne is just the second person to take on the job, succeeding Mark Figliomeni who resigned last February after just three months on the job. “It’s, again, a position that is a lot,” Figliomeni told Newswatch at the time. “It’s a lot to come into and I wish whoever comes into it the best.”
The need for an executive director position was first identified in a 2018 report by late Sen. Murray Sinclair, who investigated the board on behalf of the Ontario Civilian Police Commission, finding that it was failing to provide proper civilian oversight of the local police force in the face of documented systemic racism against Indigenous people.
The board decided to create the new position in 2025, saying it was the second busiest police board in the province and needed a full-time executive to manage its workload going forward.
Radbourne said the new role brings forth challenges, “but always with challenges we have great opportunities. So there’s that, and it’s a new learning opportunity for me.”
When asked what future success looks like for the police service board, Radbourne said it’s important for the public to be able to see the board’s progress.
For the public to “have a lot of confidence in both the board and the service, and our community really has confidence in our police and our safety, and I think that’s the key priorities for all of us that are here.”
She said she wants to thank the board for their trust and their confidence in her, and she’s looking forward to serving them.
