Devon Clunis is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

law enforcement officer, who was the chief of the

Winnipeg Police Service The Winnipeg Police Service is the police force of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. History When Winnipeg became a city, in 1873, an election was held to select the city's new mayor and Alderman, aldermen. Those appointed decided to h ...

from 2012 until his retirement in 2016. He was the first

Black Canadian Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...

ever appointed as a police chief in Canada."Jamaican makes history as Canada’s first Black police chief"
'' Share'', October 10, 2012. Born in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, Clunis moved with his family to Winnipeg at age 11, and settled in the city's North End. He joined the police force in 1987, and served in all areas of the force over the course of his career, including uniform patrol, traffic, investigation, community relations, organizational development, operational command and superintendent. He holds a university degree in

divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

, and has also served as the force's

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

. After being appointed chief of the Winnipeg Police Service in November 2012, Clunis supported the continuation of

community policing Community policing is a philosophy and organizational strategy whereby law enforcement cooperates with community groups and citizens in producing safety and security. The theory underlying community policing is that it makes citizens more likely t ...

in neighbourhoods such as

North Point Douglas North Point Douglas is a small neighbourhood located in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. North Point Douglas comprises the northern portion of a peninsula of the Red River. Its boundaries are Main Street (west), Redwood Avenue (north), th ...

that had begun under his predecessor, Keith McCaskill. Clunis retired in July 2016, and celebrated by breaking his nearly three decade long promise to never eat a

doughnut A doughnut or donut () is a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fran ...

while on the force. Clunis hoped that his replacement would continue his community policing policies and focus on addressing the social issues at the root of crime. On February 7, 2017, Clunis was awarded the Lieutenant Governor's Award for the Advancement of Interreligious Understanding by Lt.-Gov. Janice Filmon.

References

Living people Winnipeg police chiefs Black Canadian people Jamaican emigrants to Canada 1963 births {{law-enforcement-bio-stub