Timmins police officials say recruitment is a top priority

Timmins Police Chief Dan Foy, who was sworn in at the end of February, says one of the challenges he's working to resolve regards recruitment.

“We need to go out, do some outreach and recruit people in order to build the service and to make sure we have the right amount of resources and people to protect the public," said Foy.

He said the service is in need of seven officers, about half a platoon. He said modernizing some aspects of the job might help attract more people.

“Look at mobile work stations, look at body cams," Foy said.

"We are working as a team assessing what we can do to bring those tools to our services and that’s a priority over the next 12 months."

Marc Depatie, the police communications coordinator, is also a police foundations instructor at Northern College. He said enrollment in the program is robust, but said graduates are showing little interest.

“We’re at a point where we absolutely have to find out what is preventing people from applying to the police service," Depatie said.

"It has lost its lustre, it appears. There used to be a huge number of applicants for any one opening."

Police officials said they're also doing an internal check to find out how they can improve their recurring efforts, including eliminating any possible barriers during the application process.