The Honourable Helen Conway Ottenheimer, KC, Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General, announced today that Richard Deveau has been appointed director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Serious Incident Response Team. Mr. Deveau was most recently senior Crown attorney, Eastern Region, Public Prosecutions. His biography can be found in the backgrounder below.

The appointment of Mr. Deveau is effective September 9, 2026, for a five-year term. He will lead an independent team that will investigate all matters involving death, serious injury, sexual offences, and domestic violence as well as other matters of significant public interest that involve police in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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“The Newfoundland and Labrador Serious Incident Response Team plays a very important role in our province and I am pleased to announce Richard Deveau as its new director. He brings a wealth of experience and will make a significant contribution to civilian-led oversight of the police agencies in Newfoundland and Labrador. I wish him well in his new role.”
Honourable Helen Conway Ottenheimer, KC
Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney General

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BACKGROUNDER

Biography of Richard Deveau
Richard Deveau most recently served as Senior Crown Attorney for the Eastern Region. He has held this position since 2023, prior to which he held the position of senior Crown attorney for the Labrador Region for over two years. He has been with the Public Prosecution Service since 2016, practicing primarily in St. John’s, Harbour Grace and Labrador, but travelling all over the province on an as-needed basis to prosecute matters in the French language.

Mr. Deveau is originally from New Brunswick and first relocated to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2010 to complete his articles with the Newfoundland and Labrador Legal Aid Commission. He started his legal career as a staff solicitor with the commission in its Happy Valley-Goose Bay office, where he practiced for two years across all of Labrador, including the north coast, prior to taking a position with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service in Halifax, returning to Legal Aid in St. John’s in 2015.

Mr. Deveau holds a Bachelor of Arts in criminology and Bachelor of Applied Arts in Criminal Justice, both from St. Thomas University. He obtained his law degree from Université de Moncton and has a Master of Arts in international criminal law and justice from the University of New Hampshire.