Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) has made strides in adding new officers to meet staffing levels that lag behind the vast majority of other Ontario cities and regions, but challenges remain for the organization in terms of recruitment.
Last year's police budget included funding to hire 35 more officers. But a January report prepared for WRPS by consultant firm KPMG said those positions hadn’t been completely filled due to broader challenges in police recruitment.
Despite those challenges, the WRPS budget was approved to add a further 19 officers this year.
While the budget has allowed for the addition of new officers over the past two years, the overall growth rate for WRPS remained at 0.26 per cent in January, the lowest among comparable police services.
To combat recruiting obstacles, the service has worked on several initiatives to increase potential applications, including a new dedicated outreach team launched in January.
Const. André Johnson said this team allows WRPS to attend recruitment events across Ontario, helping to fill an engagement gap they had previously identified.
“The goal of the team is really just to increase the number of applications by exploring several areas of recruitment that we weren’t able to meet beforehand, before having this outreach team,” Johnson said. “With the addition of this outreach team, having people who are able attend most of these career events that are happening at different schools it gives us another opportunity and tool to reach people we weren’t necessarily reaching before.”
Last week, WRPS held a virtual recruiting information session on social media that included a Q and A session with WRPS officers.
Johnson said WRPS had seen an increase in applications since the team’s implementation, as well as the launch of an internal referral system at the same time.
There has also been some work done to fill the open spots with WRPS recently bringing in 18 new recruits as well five experienced officers.
Johnson added that they are also working on hiring new officers from the next intake at the Ontario Police College.
“We’re trying to get as many qualified applicants as we can get through for particular intakes. Our recruiting efforts are ongoing, we’re not just focused on just particularly one intake,” he said. “It would be as many intakes as it would take until we get to the complement we need and require.”
Last week's announcement by the provincial government is expected to have a significant impact on recruitment efforts.
On April 25, the province announced it will now cover tuition fees for the Basic Constable Training program at the Ontario Police College, which is currently $15,000 per cadet. To accommodate the surge of applicants the announcement will create, the college is adding space for 70 recruits per cohort, from 480 to 550, and, starting in 2024, the program will be expanded to four cohorts per year instead of three.
Under the province's Police Services Act, municipal police recruits are required to complete the program within six months of being hired.
The province has also introduced a bill to amend the Community Safety and Policing Act 2019 to eliminate the post-secondary education requirement to become a police officer.
If passed, the act would amend the CSPA to make a secondary school diploma or equivalent sufficient education for becoming a police officer.
Johnson said WRPS is excited about the tuition announcement and what it could potentially mean for future recruitment.
“Having to pay up to over $15,000 for three-and-a-half months at the police college can be tough for some people to kind of accommodate,” he said. “So, this alleviates one of the barriers.”
Johnson added the decision will open the door for potential new hires from a wider array of backgrounds, including those facing economic barriers.
“That’s one huge benefit,” he said. “It does open up for more people to consider a career and not have to worry necessarily about the huge financial burden to start their career, for sure.”
Virtual Recruiting Information Session https://t.co/KHXd72UruF
— Waterloo Regional Police (@WRPSToday) April 25, 2023
