Bloods get new police chief

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On first acquaintance, Wayne Hamby doesn't seem to be a policeman, much less the chief of a busy, growing police department. But appearances would certainly be deceiving in this case.

Despite his soft-spoken manner, the newly appointed Chief of Police on the Blood Reserve in southern Alberta, is a highly qualified law enforcement officer. And though shy with the press, he's also an able police administrator.

Hamby grew up on the Blackfeet Reserve, near Browning, Montana and has lived in that area most of his life. He began his policing career in 1971, working as an officer with the Tribal Police on the Blackfeet Reserve. Within a few years he'd been promoted to Captain and eventually was appointed Police Commissioner there.

In 1981 he moved into criminal investigations with the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Though much of his training was on-the-job, Hamby has also taken about 2,500 hours of course work, including classes at Montana State University, the U.S. Police Academy in Roswell, New Mexico, and the U.S. Treasury Department's school in Georgia.

Though his education has been in U.S. law, Hamby says he anticipates little difficulty adjusting to the Canadian legal system. "The law is basically the law," he says.

"The codes are different, but the concepts are about the same."

He's spending a fair amount of time reading up on the Canadian codes and legal system, but he's concentrating on getting to know the people in his department and on the reserve.

"The people here have made me feel pretty comfortable, but I think we need a thorough public relations effort to let the community know what we plan to do to make things better. It's one of the things I hope to work on in the future," he says.

Hamby's other priorities are to create a more effective policing force on the reserve and to get increased training for his men. He also anticipates he'll be looking at some changes in the administration of the department.

Though Hamby was being considered for the job from the first moment it came open, his appointment has only been within the last month. As an American citizen, there was some uncertainty as to his working status in Canada.

Blood Tribal administration Annabelle Cropped Eared Wolf has said there was little problem, as Hamby's an Indian rather than an American, but he still required a working permit to come here.

Hamby is living at St. Mary Lake near Babb and commuting to his office in Standoff, but he hopes to find a weekday residence in Alberta before the winter sets in.

Hamby replaces former chief Liz Scout, the only female chief of police in Canada at that time, who was fired abruptly in May for speaking out against her community's politics.

Asked about the problems on the reserve hinted at by Scout, Hamby says he'd rather not get involved in politics.

"I'm sure if there are problems they can be worked out in the future, but right now I"d just like to do a good job of policing the reserve."