The Lethbridge Police Service, Blood Tribe Police Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police joined forces in an effort to recruit more members across the board.
All three agencies are currently hiring, and LPS in particular said it is coming up on several retirements.
“We are actively hiring, probably for the next three to five years, so if we can get a class of 10 to 12 for the next three to five years, that should get our numbers back up to where we want to,” said Cst. Allison Williams with the LPS. “I know all three (forces) are eager to get more people involved.”
On Friday, the agencies took over the Lethbridge College’s gymnasium to set up booths, demonstrations and an obstacle course to practice the Alberta Physical Readiness Evaluation (A-PREP) fitness test.
The event ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and, midway through, saw a few dozen attendees who listened to speeches and spoke with the recruiters.
“We didn’t know what to expect, with this time being the first time we partnered,” said Cst. Mike Darby. “I see a lot of potential applicants.
“I think nationally, police services are struggling to attract people to this occupation for a variety of reasons,” he added. “Before, where we used to compete for candidates, now it’s about promoting the profession itself.”
The LPS currently have 160 officers out of a maximum 180.
“Right now we are short-staffed and we’re trying to fill those gaps.”
Darby also stated they are eager to see diverse applicants in gender and race, including females and Indigenous peoples.
Kanwarpreet Kuar, who moved to Canada around seven years ago, said she’s always had interest in being a police officer. Attending the event allowed her to clarify some aspects of the application process.
“There were a lot of questions in my mind regarding my permanent residency, if I need to wait for a while, and physical tests,” she said. “I’m talking to all the different recruiters and it helped a lot.”