Ottawa Police Service looking to hire non-white, non-male candidates

A tweet posted on Wednesday from the Ottawa police reads, "There has never been a better time to apply to the Ottawa Police Service. We're looking for female or racialized candidates to help us better reflect the communities we serve."

On the site, there is no mention directly of racialized or female candidates being needed, though one paragraph reads: "The Ottawa Police Service continuously strives to deliver service that is effective and responsive to the needs of our evolving community.

"As such, we are looking for people of various, diverse backgrounds and experiences to complement our service as we strive to reflect the community we serve. Everyone who has a strong interest in becoming a sworn member of the Ottawa Police, and who feels that they meet the qualifications, is encouraged to apply."

In 2020, the Ottawa Police Service announced it would release an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan that included ten steps of action for the coming year.

• Create EDI Office to enhance EDI efforts and coordination across OPS.
• Provide EDI Coaching and Mentoring to equip our leaders with culture change and EDI tools.
• Develop EDI Lens Toolkit to improve our decision-making for internal and external systems and responses – ie. missing persons/Indigenous women and internal transfer, promotions, and developmental rotation processes.
• Reintroduce Hate Crime Section to improve response and support to impacted communities.
• Enhance Community Policing including expansion of Neighbourhood Resource Teams.
• Continue Anti-Racial Profiling efforts on addressing over and under policing concerns using a multi-stakeholder approach to policy, procedures, and accountability measures.
• Update Outreach Recruitment and Background Check Processes to remove unintended barriers and increase competitive applications.
• Initiate community dialogue and work with stakeholders for more effective mental health response (including training) with an interagency and intersectional approach – that addresses gaps, improves service delivery, builds collective action, and contributes to community safety and well-being.
• Enhance Member Wellness supports and inclusion efforts - accommodations, early intervention, and formalizing Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).
• Improve Complaint Resolution Process for members and supervisors– including a special project focused on addressing sexual violence. and harassment in the work place.

The plan was presented to the Ottawa Police Services Board at its January 27 meeting.