Brendan Heffernan
RCMP Chief Superintendent (Retired)
Brendan joined the RCMP in 1990 after serving with the Canadian Forces where he was engaged as a Military Policeman. His early RCMP service began in British Columbia working in detachments as a uniformed member as well as a plain clothes investigator in the Major Crime Section before moving to the RCMP Ceremonies Branch in Ottawa as a member of the Musical Ride.
After a time in the Public Affairs Directorate, he spent five years as an “O” (Ontario) Division Protective and Support Services Analyst focusing on major organized crime, national security and protective policing files. As the Acting Officer in Charge of “O” Division VIP Protective Services Brendan was responsible for close protection duties for all visiting Internationally Protected Persons.
He was subsequently transferred back to HQ Ottawa to assume duties as the Federal Security Coordinator for the 2010 Winter Olympic/Paralympic Games and later the Director, Major Events. In this position, Brendan was responsible for overseeing security measures for all national major events hosted by the government of Canada. This included the 2010 Winter Olympics/Paralympics and the 2010 G8 & G20 World Leaders’ Summits.
Brendan completed the last three years of his 27-year RCMP career as the Registrar and Director General, Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS). CCRTIS maintains the national repository of fingerprint and criminal record information and is mandated to provide direct operational support to the Canadian law enforcement, criminal justice and public security communities, as well as to international partners such as the FBI and Interpol. Brendan navigated CCRTIS through a complete business modernization effort that saw the shift from manual labour-intensive processes to technology driven platforms which created significant economic and service level efficiencies.
Since retiring as a Regular Member in 2017, Brendan has been appointed as the Chair of the National DNA Data Bank Advisory Committee (NDDB AC). The Advisory Committee’s role is also to provide the National DNA Data Bank with strategic guidance and direction concerning scientific advancements, matters of law, legislative changes, privacy issues and ethical practices.
Brendan is very much a people person and a proud member of the RCMP Veterans Association. He has a strong community engagement background having been a member of several local service organizations. He’s also been involved as a youth leader and coach through sports associations and the Scouting movement.