Outreach Recruitment Project
| We're Asking Ottawa: 1. We talk the talk — almost half of our members speak both English and French, but how many members speak other languages?
The Answer: 12% of our members speak a combined total of 20 different languages. Find out more from our workforce census. |
2. What percentage of Ottawa police officers do you think are women?
The Answer: Approximately 23% of Ottawa police officers are women. According to Statistics Canada’s 2009 survey results, the Ottawa Police Service is about 3.06% above the national average for female police officers. In 2009, Women accounted for about one in every five officers in Canada, compared to about one in eight a decade earlier. |
In an increasingly competitive labour market, the Outreach Recruitment Project is about making the Ottawa Police Service attractive to the most qualified applicants from all parts of our community. It's a great opportunity for us to reach out to all members of our community and encourage them to consider a career with the Ottawa Police Service.
"Many police officers feel this job brings such great satisfaction and such great opportunity to make a difference that there is no other job for us."
- Chief Vern White
The Ottawa Police Service's Community Outreach Recruitment Champion Program has been awarded the 2006 International Innovation in Diversity Award by Profiles in Diversity Journal. The May/June 2006 edition of the Profiles in Diversity Journal highlights the Ottawa Police Service (PDF 523 KB) as one of the top award-winning companies for innovation in diversity programs designed to advance diversity and inclusion.
What?
The Ottawa Police Service's Outreach Recruitment Project is a proactive strategy to promote careers in policing in the Ottawa area. It focuses on reaching out to members of our community who traditionally may not have considered a policing career.
Who?
A Steering Committee, co-chaired by an Ottawa Police Deputy Chief and a community member from Community-Police Action Committee (COMPAC) oversees the development and implementation of the Outreach Recruitment Project activities. The Steering Committee brings together people from across the community, including representatives from the Ottawa Police Association, the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender (GLBT) Liaison Committee and the Eric Sprott School of Business, to name a few.
Recruitment Champions - both from within the police service and from the community - will have the most challenging role. These individuals will help identify potential applicants and will help those applicants through the application process.
Where?
Our efforts are focused right here in Ottawa. We want to offer people from our community a chance to make a difference in our community. Our recruitment efforts will also extend beyond Ottawa. Overall, our main goal is to attract and hire the most qualified people available. This is paramount in increasing our ability to work together for a safer community.
When?
The Outreach Recruitment Project is here for the long term - it's strategic priority for the police. Reaching out to the community today improves our chances for success in the future.
How?
The Ottawa Police Service is committed to having a workforce that reflects the community it serves. To achieve this, a project team is dedicated to looking at ways to recruit and retain the most qualified people while addressing the need for diversity - not only diversity as it relates to what is visible (e.g. skin colour, language ability and gender), but also as it refers to what is not visible (e.g. sexual orientation, knowledge of other cultures or religious beliefs). The Outreach Recruitment Project is meant to open doors for people who may not have considered a career with the Ottawa Police.
An integral part of mobilizing this approach will be the work of the Recruitment Champion Team. We are looking for Champions who will help bring about fundamental change in the way we interact with the community - all communities. This team, comprised of acknowledged community leaders and Ottawa Police members, will have an exciting and challenging task ahead of it.
Why?
Perhaps more than any other organization, the Ottawa Police Service has legal and moral obligations to treat people fairly. By having a diverse workforce, we increase our chances of being able to police successfully in a society that consists of multiple ages, faiths, races, lifestyles, needs, disabilities, beliefs, opinions, genders and sexual orientations. Increasing the diversity of its workforce will help the Ottawa Police to:
- increase the trust and confidence of all our communities;
- better connect with the community we serve;
- harness the energy and support of a wider section of the community;
- be more effective at investigating crimes against vulnerable people;
- identify important gaps in our service so we can ensure everyone has access to Ottawa Police services; and
- recruit others from the widest possible pool of people - those who can speak other languages, understand other cultures, understand other lifestyles, and are willing to use those skills to the benefit of the organization and community at large.
For more information…
For general information about Ottawa Police career opportunities, visit "Join Us - We're Recruiting" or contact the Human Resources Section between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. (EST) Monday to Friday:
- by phone at (613) 236-1222, extension 5808 (recorded message);
- by email; or
- by mail to the attention of Human Resources at P.O. Box 9634, Station T, Ottawa, Ontario, K1G 6H5.
For specific information about the Police Service Outreach Recruitment activities and the position of Community Recruitment Champion, contact the Human Resources Section at (613) 236-1222, extension 5480.