Herberman, who has presided over the branch for the last four years during the overhaul of the legislation governing the security industry in the province, was not available for comment, but a Ministry spokesperson insists he was not released from the position due to performance.

He has now moved into the position of Director of the Strategic Planning and Research Branch of the Ministry.

Lisa Kool now becomes the new director of the Private Security and Investigative Services Branch. Kool most recently served as the director of the Goudge Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario.

It is an 18-month appointment and Ministry spokesperson Tony Brown said Kool brings a breadth of “change management and project management skills” to the job. Brown says she Kool identified as “an ideal candidate for this role” but could not comment on what Kool knows about the private security industry, saying only that her background in management is the key element in bringing her into the role.

Collette Blair, Acting Manager of Operations for the branch said Herberman has, in her words, “done a fantastic job and served to modernize the industry.”

The ministry insists Herberman’s reassignment to a research division within the ministry has nothing to do with a Toronto Star story in September that called into question the length of time it has taken the Ministry to get training and testing for the industry underway. The Star investigation also outlined how a reporter was able to obtain a security guard licence for $80 with no training required.

While in the job Herberman headed up the body that established a code of conduct for the private security industry, a complaints process, uniform and vehicle standards and a curriculum for security guards and private investigators.

A spokesman for the Ministry said they expect the testing will be implemented in spring of 2010.

In an interview with Canadian Security Oct. 20 Herberman defended the time it has taken his department to review and revise the private security industry legislation.