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Scott Tod says he will miss the people.
"Sometimes the work has been stressful and after 42 years of doing it, there are many people that I miss already and I have not even left here yet," he said.
"A former boss of mine says he missed the clowns and not the circus and I guess I am taking that approach to that."
Back in late November, Scott Tod announced that he would be retiring as North Bay's Chief of Police in March 2024 after more than eight years with the North Bay Police Service and over 40 years working in policing.
Tod is cleaning out his office at North Bay Police headquarters this week with March 1 as his last official day as North Bay's Top Cop.
Chief Tod has served as chief since 2019 and served as deputy chief from 2016 to 2019. Previously, he served as Deputy Commissioner, Investigations and Organized Crime, for the OPP from 2010 to 2015. He originally joined the OPP in 1982 after serving for several years as an officer in the Canadian Forces, Maritime Command.
During the North Bay Police Service's February board meeting, the board announced it had completed its search for a new chief, naming former Woodstock Police Chief Daryl Longworth as its new leader.
Tod took a backseat approach to the hiring process and left that completely with the police board and Waterhouse Executive Search to find his replacement.
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In the next few weeks, Tod will certainly have time for reflection on his impressive career in policing.
When looking at some of the positives, he feels hiring experienced officers is his proudest moment with the North Bay Police Service.
"I believe North Bay has done an excellent job hiring the officers we have hired while I have been chief and before that as deputy," he told BayToday.
"I do believe that for me the proudest moment is always when we hire an officer to come work with the North Bay Police Service, and they want to come here to work and they enjoy working here and I see that.
"It makes me proud that we are a service of choice for people who want to come and work here. We have hired quality officers from the RCMP, from Hamilton Police Service, from York Regional Police, all police services people have chosen the North Bay Police Service to come to work and come here to live too."
The COVID-19 response
Tod also says he will also look back at how well the community responded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Just the way our officers were able to use good judgment in the application of the regulations and rules that were in place at that time and the response of our community back to the officers and the support that we got, that is another proud moment to watch during what I would call a significant crisis in society," he said.
Honourary Colonel
While he will no longer be the chief, Tod will not be leaving North Bay. He says his family has called North Bay home since the early 1990s and that is not going to change.
He was recently named an Honourary Colonel for the 22 Wing at CFB North Bay.
"I was humbled to be asked to be an Honourary Colonel to follow in the footsteps of all the other distinguished citizens from North Bay who have been Honourary Colonels," he said, naming other former Honourary Colonels like former Police Chief Paul Cook.
Tod says he likes the idea of becoming part of the link between the military and the community too.
Board work
Tod admits he will also be involved in several boards now that he is retired, and he sees the Gathering Place near the top of that list.
"There are a couple of volunteer boards I may sit on. Certainly The Gathering Place is somewhere that I will commit a lot of my time to as it does not get a lot of attention within our community from the government," said Tod noting he credits Dennis Chippa for all his efforts as executive director with The Gathering Place.
Tod is also interested in joining a couple of boards provincially and nationally during his retirement; boards potentially with a focus on digital forensic work.
Will Tod come out of retirement?
While he wants to keep busy, he admits, at 64, he will not come out of retirement to become a Chief or Deputy Chief again.
"I am interested in doing something in policing. I have had a couple of people approach me about doing various reports about policing," he said.
"So I am interested in doing something to support policing but I am not interested in another police leadership role in another agency.
"For me, 42 years is enough, but more importantly, it is time for somebody else to take the leadership role and do things differently and make things better."
