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Saint John Welcomes Six New Officers

Saint John, NB, Canada / 97.3 The Wave
Brad Perry
Sep 3, 2021 | 5:56 PM
Saint John Welcomes Six New Officers

From left to right: Jennifer Bergeron, Philip Maher, Justin Palardy, Caleb Settle, Alexander Clayton, and Matthew Innes. (Image: Saint John Police Force/submitted)



Six new constables have joined the ranks of the Saint John Police Force and are looking forward to getting to work.

The new members took their oath of office during a special ceremony at police headquarters on Friday afternoon.

They include Jennifer Bergeron, Alexander Clayton, Matthew Innes, Philip Maher, Justin Palardy, and Caleb Settle.

All six recruits have served with other police forces but have one thing in common: they are all originally from Greater Saint John.

Const. Philip Maher (Image: Brad Perry)

Maher, who spent five years with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, said he is excited to return to the city where he grew up.

“Communities have different needs, especially across the country. We have a lot of different needs in our community and, luckily from being here, I’m familiar with that,” Maher told reporters after the ceremony.

“A big part of policing now is getting to know the community and to knowing what people need and I’m hoping all of us, being from here, can be able to help that and to be able to do a better job serving our community and to help the civilians here.”

Bergeron, Clayton and Palardy recently served with Halifax Regional Police while Innes and Settle are former members of the RCMP.

The swearing-in ceremony brought back a lot of memories for Chief Robert Bruce, who just joined the force in July.

“I think what it does is reiterates to all our members why we came here. When you see the new recruits and it generates some excitement and you remember why you came here and when you sat there one day,” said Bruce.

The new members are the first ones to be sworn in under Bruce’s watch. The force now has 142 members and continues to try and fill some vacancies, said the chief.

Bruce reminded the new recruits that policing is about community and not an “Us vs. Them” mentality.

“Policing is the community and we’re part of the community so for us to just remember that.”