Hamilton police chief outlines service’s plans ahead of 2027 retirement

With the number of shooting and homicide investigations in Hamilton both down, compared to 2024, Hamilton Police Chief Frank Bergen says the numbers are trending in the right direction.

But many Hamiltonians still feel unsafe downtown — a gap police are hoping to close in the new year.

“We had an interesting year, quite a complex year,” said Bergen.

The police chief reflects on the past year in the City of Hamilton — a year that saw sustained investments in the Core Patrol Team downtown and the dedicated Shooting Response Team.

“Those investments have also paid off,” said Bergen.

Shootings are down in the City of Hamilton, from a recent high of 60 cases last year, to 33 in 2025.

Police say over the past five years, gun crimes are down by more than 13 per cent.

It’s a similar story looking specifically at homicides: Hamilton police say those are down 65 per cent over the past five years, with 7 reported in 2025.

“What has been a challenge, has been being able to contrast where we look at the violent crime severity index going down — trending in the right direction,” said Bergen.

“But still that perception of safety and the impact of some of the decisions that have been made in the city that has caused that challenge where people do not feel safe.”

Part of that perceived lack of safety comes from two violent crimes that rocked the community in the spring and summer: the killings of Belinda Sarkodie and Harsimrat Randhawa — both innocent bystanders.

Three men have been arrested in the latter, with one suspect still outstanding, while the teenager accused of killing Sarkodie turned themselves in months after the crime.

WATCH MORE: 17-year-old suspect in Belinda Sarkodie shooting case turned himself in, say Hamilton police

When asked if he thought Hamilton was a safe city, he said he did.

“Statistically it is, but it’s not just something that we rest on our laurels,” said the police chief. “It is something that we have to address some emerging trends. Emerging trends we’re seeing: distraction theft, youth violence.”

Bergen says it’s a growing challenge for officers, with youth violent crime up by nearly 37 per cent between 2020 and 2024.

This year, police even arrested an 11-year-old, who crashed a car into a house after what was described as a “wild” chase through downtown.

“The prevalence of youth now having the availability of weapons — I’ve heard it recently coined as being ‘they’re foot soldiers for organized crime’,” said Bergen. “That’s when we see smash and grabs at jewellery stores, that’s when we see people who aren’t even tied to this community getting a snapchat that tells them where to go and what they’re expected to do.”

Looking ahead to next year, the chief hopes to assign more resources to tackle teen violence.

The 2026 police budget proposal also includes an expansion of the Core Patrol Unit, currently a group of eight officers who walk Hamilton’s downtown beat, adding 16 more who will travel to patrol hotspots in the city.

“In other words, to be able to be agile, be able to move towards investigations,” said Bergen.

“Youth crime is an example, predominately we’re having that at Station 30 up on the mountain. Bear spray, and other types of street robberies and fights that are going on. That will be an ability or critical mass to be able to shift that and be able to eradicate that behaviour.”

That pitch is part of a $239 million budget, which Hamilton Police Services is seeking for 2026 — up 6.81 per cent, or $15.3 million more than last year.

The proposal has been approved by the Police Services Board, and now awaits approval from city council in the new year.

WATCH MORE: Hamilton’s police board approves $15.2M budget increase

Also on that proposed budget, a dedicated team to tackle the average 6,500 intimate partner violence calls police receive each year.

“It’s the ability to actually have a victim-centered approach, offender management and as well as a better outcome in court,” said Bergen. “So we believe those additional 20 members who will be in that unit, built over the course of 2026, are going to be put where they need to be to deal with the complex nature of intimate partner violence.”

The need for a dedicated unit was underscored by the brutal killing of 40-year-old Shalini Singh in December of 2024.

Hamilton police spent months during 2025 searching a local landfill before finding remains.

Singh’s live-in boyfriend has been arrested in connection with her killing. The charge has not been tested in court.

2026 also marks Chief Bergen’s last full year on the job, as he eyes retirement in 2027.

He says the time is right to step away, after taking the helm in 2021, and that one thing he’s most proud of are the community partners and dedicated units the service has built in his tenure — like the Hate Crime Case Review Team, and the Rapid Intervention Support Team.

“This particular last segment of my career has been as the chief of my community. I’ve lived in this community, raised my family in this community. Therefore, I think that is what I can leave with a smile, that I’ve been able to achieve that in my career.”

The full 18 minute interview can be found here.

WATCH MORE: Hamilton police chief looks back on ‘interesting and complex’ 2025