Accessible Version

Recruitment Plan

January 2023

 


1. Introduction
2. Community Profile/Available Workforce
3. Recruitment
4. Objectives
5. Plan of Action
6. Administration

Introduction

The City of Brantford currently has an estimated population of 97,496 (2016 Census).

The Brantford Police Service is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in the hiring of its employees. The Service is committed to recruiting and hiring only the most highly qualified of candidates. Highly-qualified personnel who receive professional training, supervision and written policy guidance can be expected to successfully deliver effective law enforcement and policing services within the City of Brantford.

Brantford police officers provide services to people who live, work, go to school, visit and also to those who travel through the City. Brantford police officers therefore serve a community which is ethnically, racially and religiously diverse as is the area surrounding the City.

The Brantford Police Services Board and the Service believe that one component of effective policing is an organization whose personnel reasonably represent the diversity of the available workforce of the community it serves. Purposeful recruitment of qualified candidates who represent the diversity of the police service’s available workforce population is consequently one strategy for effective policing. It is due to these beliefs that the Recruitment Plan was developed with very specific objectives, as well as an action plan to facilitate attaining those objectives.

This report focuses on the Brantford Police Service’s recruiting processes, which will occur during the life of this plan in conjunction with the Service Equal Employment Opportunity Plan. Annually, an analysis will be undertaken to examine and assess the degree of success resulting from the implementation of the recruitment action plan and the plan will be revised as needed.

There is a high degree of mobility in the City of Brantford with an anticipated population growth to occur resulting from the boundary adjustment that occurred in January 2017. Over the last several years, Brantford has experienced a population increase due to the completion of Highway 403, which links Windsor to Toronto and the Niagara Region. Further, the price of houses in Brantford is still relatively affordable compared to areas closer to Toronto. As a result, many families have moved to Brantford and then commute to work in larger metropolitan areas.

Brantford is also a hub for many smaller outlying communities. People from these smaller communities travel to Brantford for employment purposes or to enjoy restaurants, movies, shopping, leisure activities and entertainment (performing arts, casinos, etc.); therefore, the source of the demographic profiles of the available labour force for Brantford may not fully reflect all of those we serve.

Community Profile/Available Workforce

(The 2016 Statistics Canada Census was used to calculate the following community profile and available workforce data.)

The Police Service Act stipulates the criteria for hiring entry-level police officers. Applicants are required to be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, are at least 18 years of age, physically and mentally able to perform the required functions, are of good moral character and habit and have successfully completed at least four years of secondary school education or its equivalent.

In addition, the applicants must possess a valid driver’s licence with no more than six demerit points, have a current certification in CPR and first aid, should possess a valid O.A.C.P. testing certificate and be able to pass a security clearance, background investigation, credit and reference checks. Given all the aforementioned requirements for employment as a police officer, the percentage of candidates who are eligible from the population of the City of Brantford, is limited compared to other careers or occupations in the City.

The data that could be reliably extracted from the Census for the purpose of this Recruitment Plan reveals that the available workforce is 46,315 (Caucasian 38,135; Visible Minority 4,290; Indigenous 3,890).

The most current demographic statistics for Brantford are available at: www.statcan.gc.ca. Brantford has a very diverse population with over 130 ethnic backgrounds living in our community. According to Statistics Canada, the number of visible minorities in Brantford in 2016 was 9,440 (9.7%).

Brantford is located just north of the Six Nations Reserve, one of the highest populated reserves in Canada that is policed by the Six Nations Police Service. The Brantford Police Service is cognizant of the difficulties of attracting Indigenous applicants for whom there is a financial incentive to police in First Nations communities.

In Brantford, Statistics Canada reports 5,395 people (5.5% of the population) who were identified as Indigenous in the 2016 Census. The available workforce will be those who meet the qualifications listed above.

In May 2018, 4% of police officers and 3% of recruits identified as Indigenous throughout Canada. On that same day, 8% of officers and 12% of recruits in Canada self-identified as belonging to a visible minority group.

 

Because our utilization analysis deals directly with the ethnic and gender makeup of personnel, this report addresses the recruiting practices of the Service that contribute to its current makeup. The available workforce demographics of the City are reflected in the chart below. The available workforce is determined by taking the population data listed in the 2016 Census for the same age group for each of Caucasian, Visible Minority and Indigenous peoples. Although Statistics Canada does not break down the data to exactly match the age requirements to be a police officer in Ontario, the largest age group of the total population (25-54) was used to ensure consistency in amongst the status categories.  Criminal records, physical ability (fitness), driving records and other background information that would preclude a candidate have not been factored in.

 

Indigenous

Visible Minority

Female

Available Workforce

8.4%

9.3%

14% *

*National Association of Women in Law Enforcement (NAWLE)

Our Service numbers compare closely with the nationwide female law enforcement availability rate of 15% given by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies and the availability rate of 14% as provided by the National Association of Women in Law Enforcement.

Recruitment

The Brantford Police Service has long attempted to employ a recruiting campaign designed to remove barriers and attract all qualified candidates for the position of entry-level police officers.

Our recruiting methods have entailed advertising through various media sources.  We attend job fairs inside and outside of the City, we use organizational contacts of various post-secondary institutions to solicit our employment opportunities and we have recently produced a recruiting video that displays both sworn officer and civilian employment opportunities with our Service. 

The use of social media, the Service’s website and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police certificate testing website reaches candidates far beyond the boundaries of the City of Brantford. A large portion of the applicants reside a significant distance from the City and hear of the Service’s hiring processes through the aforementioned recruiting methods.

 

Objectives

The Brantford Police Service has established the following objectives for this plan:

    1. Attract quality applicants representative of the demographic composition of the available workforce in Brantford to our recruitment pool, with the objective of increasing their representation in our ranks. 
    2. Approximating within the sworn ranks the demographic workforce composition of the community we serve.

Plan of Action

In order to meet the aforementioned objectives, the following are strategies that will be used:

  • Utilize the newly produced recruiting video as a platform to display career opportunities within our Service
  • Value different perspectives and experiences as an asset to policing
  • Depict visible minorities and women in Service publications whenever possible
  • Engage non-traditional recruitment initiatives with university and college sites for identifying creative and motivated female and minority student applicants; computer technology, science, sporting organizations
  • Involve female officers and officers of visible minority status within the Service to actively encourage recruitment of potential candidates through meaningful interactions
  • Engage with local high school representatives to improve communication and establish future career opportunities in policing for students who reside in our community  
  • Create organizational awareness and support for an inclusive focus throughout the entire Service
  • Include in recruiting advertisements that the Brantford Police Service is an equal opportunity employer

Administration

The Inspector i/c Administrative Support Branch shall be responsible to administer the recruitment plan by overseeing the recruitment and the selection process and ensuring the annual analysis is completed.