Timmins Police Service to soon release details of its new recruitment and retention plan

The Timmins Police Services Board wants to reassure the public and Timmins Police Service employees that a plan to recruit and retain more officers is soon to be released to the public.

Timmins Police Chief Dan Foy said another officer is resigning from the service, bringing the number of staff to 80 when its full complement should be 96.

“In the last few months we’ve had some leave the profession; some leave for other services-approximately five or six," said Foy.

For the past two months, the local police service has been trying to figure out a way to entice more officers to Timmins.

• Download our app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

Foy said that a marketing plan that will be used to recruit and retrain officers is almost ready to be released to the public.

“We’ve been actively working with a number of partners including the board and the Timmins Police Association, in regards to advancing recruitment and retention initiatives," said Foy.

"We are very close to finalizing the review of these plans.”

Board member and Timmins city councillor Steve Black asked the news media to help get the word out since the issue is of particular concern and interest in the community.

Kramyr Grenke, the board chair, emphasized that the campaign will also include aspects to retain the 136 employees the police service has in total.

Foy told CTV News once the board approves the final marketing plan, details of it will be released to the public. The chief said he hopes that will be soon – maybe even this week or next.