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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday August 11, 2006 - 3 Halton Regional Police want you! By Howard Mozel OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF While Recruitment Officer Const. Julie Craddock is adept at extolling the virtues of the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) by explaining the myriad pluses associated with the organization, it's the genuine enthusiasm with which she does so that ultimately sells this career path. The daughter of a police officer who boasts many other law enforcement professionals in her extended family, Craddock makes no bones about how much she loves what she does and how fulfilling it will also be for the right applicants. That said, she quickly points out that the HRPS does not subscribe to a "cookie cutter" approach to hiring, but is committed to diversity in the truest sense of the word among candidates. This means that ­ given the expansive range of tasks, challenges and opportunities open to officers within the HRPS ­ an equally wide spectrum of individuals is being actively encouraged to apply. They include, but are not limited to, people of different ages, genders, races and languages and those who bring varied educational backgrounds and life experience to the job ­ including foreign-trained officers. For that reason, says Media Relations Officer Sgt. Peter Payne, potential applicants should never rule themselves out of contention and let HRPS determine how their attributes can best be utilized. "It's all added-value," said Payne. What might come as a surprise to people, adds Craddock, is that no prior law enforcement education or related work experience is required to apply. Although this will be taken into account, of course, the selection process places a premium on a demonstrated ability to learn ­ hence any post-secondary achievement is a definite plus and an indicator that they'll flourish in the onthe-job training environment of WANTED POSTER: Halton Regional Police Constable Noel Bowes is featured on a recruitment poster that will appear on bus shelters, billboards and even movie theatres. policing. routine, said Payne, who adds that Payne agrees: "Variety is the spice "We need to see they can learn even after 24 years in uniform he of life, so policing is very challenging new things and adapt," said can't wait to come to work. and rewarding ­ plus you can really Craddock, explaining that new offiCraddock explained that, with help people. You can look in the mircers are called "Constable the right attitude and thirst for ror and tell yourself you made a difGeneralists." "The learning never learning and new challenges, police ference. If you're dedicated to helpstops." officers can virtually "choose their ing people, this is the job for you." Adds Payne: "There are so many own path" through the service's With that in mind, HRPS is things we do daily." many units and assignments ­ a pol- actively hiring and to that end This high degree of variety is one icy she said is thoroughly supported launches a new recruitment cammajor draw for people who simply throughout the entire organization. paign next week complete with can't be satisfied by endless daily "It's a life-long career," she said. advertising in bus shelters and in Six new constables join Halton police service Six new constables have just joined the Halton Regional Police Service, thanks to the provincial government's Safer Communities - 1,000 Officers Partnership program. Of the half-dozen officers ­ who graduated July 27 from Ontario Police College - three have been assigned to Oakville. Two of them have gone to Georgetown/Halton Hills and a pair to Burlington. Fourteen officers have already been hired and are on duty while an additional 14 new constables are being actively recruited and are expected to be hired by HRPS by the end of this year, for a total of 34 officers under the program. This initiative was announced in 2004 to help municipalities hire 1,000 new police officers before the end of the government's first mandate. So far, approximately 400 officers have been hired and are now on duty across the province. They will soon be joined by the 393 officers hired under the Safer Communities -- 1,000 Officers Partnership program, who are among the 468 recruits who completed their training July 27. Approximately 200 additional recruits are expected to start training at the college in September. The Safer Communities - 1,000 Officers Partnership program was implemented in August 2005. The $37.1 million in annual funding for this initiative will allow Ontario municipalities to hire 1,000 new police officers, with 500 deployed to community policing and 500 to the six priority areas that are of greatest concern to Ontario residents: organized crime and marijuana grow operations, guns and gangs, youth crime, domestic violence, dangerous offenders and protecting children from Internet luring and child pornography. The government also continues to fund the Community Policing Partnership program, which means investing approximately $68 million annually in perpetuity to help fund more than 2,000 officers. movie theatres plus billboards. The ads ­ featuring a smiling HRPS Const. Noel Bowes - will appear in seven Oakville bus shelters (15 in Burlington, three in Milton) and on several large Burlington billboards. Slides also appear before films at AMC in Oakville and Silver City in Burlington. One reason for the stepped-up recruitment effort is so the police service can draw from as large an applicant pool as possible, something that is becoming increasingly difficult, said Craddock, since applications are down 25 per cent province-wide. At the same time, more than 50 HRPS officers are currently eligible for retirement. Not all plan to leave right away, says Craddock, but the potential is there to impact the service of approximately 500 officers. A large pool is also necessary because so few of those who apply end up making the cut and, says Craddock, HRPS can't and won't lower standards simply to fill out its ranks. "They are all good people but not all meet the hiring criteria," said Craddock, explaining that during the January-March 2006 intake period, only six of 105 applicants made the grade after a battery of intense testing. "This is concerning because not everyone is qualified so we need a large pool." Payne said HRPS is making a special appeal to Halton residents to apply and "take ownership of their own community." "We want to keep a good thing going," he said. "Halton is a worldclass place to be and Halton is a world-class place to police." Added Craddock: "This is a safe community ­ there's no doubt about that ­ and police officers help keep it that way." A recruitment information evening is planned for this fall. In the meantime, potential applicants are encouraged to visit www.hrps.on.ca or call the recruitment information line at 905-825-4747 ext. 5116.