The Halton Police Board meeting last Thursday, April 25, 2024, kicked off with a discussion on the ongoing challenges faced by the service while trying to attract new recruits.
Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) Inspector Trevor Bradley gave a presentation going over the specifics of the matter.
"Recruiting is one of our biggest priorities and one of our biggest challenges right now," said Bradley.
"Most police services in Ontario are experiencing the same thing that Halton is in terms of trying to get as many quality people in the door and doing the job."
Bradley discussed recent initiatives to incentivize policing across Canada, including making it free to attend the Ontario Police College (OPC), cash bonuses for veteran officers, and dropping the post-secondary education requirement to become a police officer in Ontario.
A key part of HRPS's strategy to attract new officers is the cadet program. This program is open to youth aged 18-25 and involves recruits working with mentor officers, following the schedule of police officers, including four days on and four days off, but they do not carry a gun or taser.
"We've found great success in that program in terms of developing officers and ensuring that they understand what they're getting into, ensure that they actually have a love for the job before they sign up for you know 30 years of policing," said Bradley.
Though Bradley says the program has been successful so far, the shortage of quality candidates remains a problem yet to be solved.
It was said in the meeting that HRPS currently has 29 openings for police constable positions. In 2020, they had 1,475 applicants and hired 34 officers, but believe the spike in applications may have been a result of people who were simply submitting an application for the sake of doing so.
In 2023 there were 645 applicants, and it is unclear what the figures for 2024 are so far.
Despite a decline in applicants, HRPS says hiring trends have remained consistent, though limited seats at the Ontario Police College (OPC) remain a key barrier to getting new officers on the road. Bradley says an extra ten seats at the college would help HRPS a great deal.
Bradley also noted that over 25 per cent of HRPS has less than five years of experience but expects most of them will be with the service for decades.
Another factor that HRPS is preparing for is veteran officers who are getting ready to retire, their focus for the recruits they do get is on preparing the next generation of officers to assume leadership roles within the community and carry on the service's legacy.
Halton Police Chief Stephen Tanner said the services is "developing our officers to become sergeants."
Even with a lack of applicants, the fact remains that the process of becoming a police officer is unlike most other jobs, with some candidates getting caught in the application process for months or up to a year at a time.
The background checks, certifications, testing, interview processes, training, and probationary period all present many opportunities for interested applicants to either drop off or fall short of meeting standards.
However, these measures are necessary to ensure that the best quality applicants are hired before they are handed dangerous weapons and trusted to keep our streets safe.
If the lack of applicants to police services in Canada remains a problem or gets worse, residents will no doubt be wondering what further measures the government will take to entice people to the profession.