Ottawa Police Service adding 80 new officers in 2022

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) is hiring and they’re looking to add 80 new officers to its team.

This is in the effort to hire new sworn officers by this year while addressing other staffing concerns and also building trust among Ottawa’s community and police services.

Four information sessions will be happening this week:

Sunday, May 15:
Where: Ottawa Sikh Society at 25 Gurdwara Rd.
Time: 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday May 17:

Where: Pinecrest Recreation Centre at 2250 Torquay Ave.
Time: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 18:

Where: Elizabeth Manley Park at 1261 Blohm Dr.
Time: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Thursday, May 19:

Where: Jules Morin Park at 400 Clarence St.
Time: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Teams will be on-site at each event to answer any questions about the application process.

Each session will be taking place during an event held for Police Week.

This will be the first time in two years that the OPS is able to celebrate in person with a lineup of family friendly events aimed at reconnecting with the community.

For more information, visit the OPS’ website.

According to a September 2021 report from the Ottawa Police Services Board, it takes a new recruit nine months, on average, to become deployable.

The Ontario Police College also typically holds three training sessions a year for new recruits.

The 2021 sworn staffing forecast initially identified the need to hire 44 officers in 2021 to meet OPS’ criteria, however, the forecast was then adjusted to 30 officers based on sworn staffing changing the first half of 2021, including a lower than expected number of retirements as well as civilianization of five sworn position (there were three retirements and three resignations in Q4 2021).

However, a March 28 report to the board, the board authorized the full-time equivalent of 1,481 as outlined in the 2021 operating budget.

However, a combination of factors reduced the hiring plan to zero for 2021.

“The service became 2021 over complemented by 58 officers as a result of pre-hiring 48 recruits in Q4 2020 to cover expected retirements/resignations in the first half of 2021 and in anticipation of staffing the addition growth FTEs approved in the 2020 budget,” the report explains.

There were seven sworn positions converted to civilian positions in 2021, reducing the annual hiring requirements by seven.

“As a cost reduction strategy, the remaining unassigned growth positions were left vacant further reducing the 2021 hiring requirement by 28.”

Also as a cost reduction strategy, the usual pre-hires in anticipation of the increase in retirements/resignations expected in the first half of 2022 were removed from the hiring place.

Those combined factors meant no new sworn officers hired in 2021 and that OPS would start in 2022, under complemented by 13 officers.

The hiring of the 80 new recruits is based on the assumption that there will be 40 retirements and 10 resignations in 2022, and provides for a complement carry-over of 20 officers in anticipation of 2023 retirements.