Citing city’s ‘advantages,’ Calgary police target B.C. for recruitment

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) is turning its eye toward B.C.’s Lower Mainland in its latest recruiting blitz, with various events scheduled in Surrey and New Westminster for the next two weeks.

As it stands, the force has more than 2,300 officers and 700 civilian staffers. It brands itself as among “the largest and most respected municipal police services in the country.”

“We’ve always had a sizable number of applicants from the B.C. area,” explained Calgary Const. Andy Buck from a career fair in New Westminster on Tuesday.

“We’re fortunate in Calgary, we have what I would consider to be a number of advantages. Climate is one thing, it’s the sunniest city in Canada … we historically have a good working relationship with our public, so working with that support makes the job a little easier too, and maybe that sets us apart.”

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According to the Calgary Police Service, B.C. is its second-highest source of applicants after Alberta, representing up to 20 per cent of all applicants. In the past year, applications from B.C. have increased between 60 and 70 per cent, it added.

The Alberta force’s outreach comes as B.C. grapples with an RCMP staffing shortage, with some 1,500 vacancies across the province as of April.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth cited that shortage when he overruled an election pledge of Surrey’s mayor in the spring, ordering the city to phase out its RCMP detachment and fully transition to the fledgling municipal Surrey Police Service. At the time, he expressed concerns that if Surrey replenished its cohort of Mounties, it would draw from parts of the province experiencing a policing shortage, thus compromising their safety.

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The B.C. RCMP, meanwhile, has described its recruitment efforts as proactive, ongoing and “very successful finding both new recruits and experienced police officers.” It said no one was available for an interview Tuesday, but that it has sworn nearly 100 experienced officers in over the past year-and-a-half and is seeing a “significant increase” in applications.

“The RCMP has high retention of its regular members. While there is typically, slightly elevated attrition within the first 2-3 years of service, as some leave for other police services or other careers, a majority of departures are due to retirement,” wrote Staff Sgt. Kris Clark.

“Interprovincial recruiting by our partner agencies has occurred for years and is commonly viewed as standard operating procedure.”

The Surrey Police Service echoed that comment, stating that out-of-province recruitment is fairly common across Canada.

The municipal force said it wasn’t available for an interview on this topic, but in a written statement, media specialist Ian MacDonald wrote, “Ultimately, we support policing and individuals who have chosen policing as a profession. We understand that each agency will look for individuals who will be the best fit for them, regardless of where they currently work or reside.”

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In New Westminster, Buck — who has seven years of experience on the CPS recruitment team — said he hasn’t really had to sell any career fair participants on the idea of Calgary, since most seem to know the city and have friends or family there.

“Nobody is on any commission for leads, this is all about you and it’s less about us,” Buck told Global News.

“We’re looking to hire, statistically, around 150 police officers a year, so that’s more than a lot of other municipal agencies … we’re a rapidly expanding city. We need to keep up.”

The CPS also held an in-person information session in Surrey on Tuesday and has open writing test for potential applicants slated in the city on Wednesday. Another round of similar events are scheduled in Surrey next week.