TIMMINS - Police are ramping up online recruiting as they near the end of a multi-year recruitment and retention plan.
Timmins Police Chief Sydney Lecky said two people are graduating from Ontario Police College next week, and an experienced officer is considering the service.
“We’ve added more than we’ve lost, so that’s a good thing,” said Lecky. “We haven’t lost any real experienced police officers, and we’ve added about eight or so since I got here.”
In 2023, Timmins Police Services launched a recruitment and retention plan. A $30,000 signing bonus was offered to experienced officers willing to move to Timmins, and existing officers were given a financial incentive to commit to staying with the force for multiple years. The retention bonus is handed out in 2026.
Recently, the service launched a social media campaign focused on attracting new officers.
Board chair Kraymr Grenke said the online response has been enthusiastic so far.
“We’re seeing both interest from the local community and the region itself as well, and people wanting to move to Northern Ontario,” he said.
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Grenke said that spring is always a big recruitment time.
“As the sunshine comes out, people want to get out and do things, but also as school comes to a close ... so springtime is definitely when we’re looking for a good push,” he said.
Two more cadets from Timmins are heading to the Ontario Police College next month.
When the retention incentive ends for current officers next year, Lecky said there is no concern that there will be any losses in staffing.
“There are always transitions for family reasons and that kind of thing, but we don’t have any concerns,” said Lecky.
When the recruitment and retention incentive launched, the service had about 80 officers, which included all people in uniform from constables to the chief, and people off on leave.
Timmins Police Services currently employs 87 officers. Lecky said 10 to 12 officers are on leave at the moment. The service is approved for 96 officers.
The board is moving to a quarterly employment reporting model, so those numbers will become available four times a year rather than once a month. The first quarter report is expected at the next police board meeting.
