North Bay police bring 9 new officers on board

North Bay police have brought nine new police officers on board to join the force in a short swearing-in ceremony at the Davedi Club on Friday.

Newly sworn officer Const. Anna l'Ami, from North Bay, has achieved her lifetime goal of becoming a police constable.

She attended Canadore College where she graduated with a diploma in Criminal Justice Services. She also volunteered at the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre before starting with the police force as a part-time special constable in May, 2021.

“I saw one our police officers that's on now in her uniform and I was just like so inspired by that to see a female in policing,” she said.

“I thought I could actually do this."

l’Ami is one of three new recruits to join the North Bay force. Six officers with previous experience from other agencies in other parts of the country were also hired, including from: Toronto police, Peel Regional police and the RCMP.

"I'm grateful here today that nine people chose to join our police service. Some are from North Bay, most are not. Some of them have moved thousands of kilometres to be with us,” said Police Chief Scott Tod.

As all police agencies continue to address retention and recruitment challenges, North Bay police has been able to consistently bring new officers on board. The service currently has 112 sworn in officers.

"Every other police service across Ontario is hiring. The larger police services are hiring by the thousands. Finding police officers is very difficult,” said Tod.

“But yet, North Bay seems to be an attractive spot for young police officers. I think it’s because of community first and police service second.”

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Among the constables with previous experience is Const. David Wright., a former officer in Hamilton, he was part of a number of different units, including: Uniform Patrol, Youth Officer, Fugitive Apprehension Unit, Community Mobilization Division, Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team, Bail Compliance Unit and the Crime Managers Office.

"I worked as a crisis negotiator helping young people, a majority of my career was in the offender management capacity,” he said.

“There are a lot of skills I can bring up here. We don't have those units due to the size of the service here."

He recalled the time he was first hired by Hamilton police in 17 years ago.

“I remember when I got hired in 2006, the odds of getting hired were about one in 250,” he reflected.

Chief Tod said having more trained officers will go a long way in creating a sense of safety in the community.

“It’s not just about crime. It’s about social disorder and other things that happen in our community that need police assistance,” he said.

The job of filling positions isn't over. Two recruits are currently at the Ontario Police College and three more officers are scheduled to be hired by the North Bay Police Service later this year.