Police Chief says the force works at maintaining maximum number it is authorized to do
The Niagara Region's police chief has given as update on where it stands with recruitment, and how it relates to recent announcements from the Ontario government.
Bryan MacCulloch told the police services board meeting recently it hovers just under the maximum number of officers authorized to be on the force, which is 777.
The Ontario government recently announced it was planning to pay for tuition for the Ontario Police College, as well as scale back on fees, all in an effort to boost enrollment. Premier Ford has said more officers are needed to fight rising crime in the province.
The Niagara Chief went on to say most of the graduates who apply from police college have a post-secondary education, but only a high school diploma is needed.
The chief also pointed out the province was planning to pull back on an impending post-secondary requirement. "Anything that we can do to leverage applications from people who may be coming from marginalized communities that can't necessarily afford the Ontario Police College I think is a step in the right direction."
The Chief says most graduates, about 97%, have post-secondary, and it does make them stand out.
But the number of resumes received has gone down.
"We're not seeing as many applicants as we previously received. We used to receive well over a thousand applicants a year, we now receive several hundred applicants a year," he says.
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