Timmins Police Service offers $30K incentive for experienced officers to join their ranks

The Timmins Police Service is offering experienced police officers a $30,000 incentive to join the force in northern Ontario and provide at least five years of service.

Kraymr Grenke, chair of the Timmins Police Services Board, said the city is the first in Ontario to offer such a bonus for officer recruitment.

He said the police service in Prince Albert, Sask., offered a $25,000 incentive for officers to move to the community, and it was met with great success. According to a Prince Albert Police Service release last summer, the one-time hiring incentive was used to attract a certain number of experienced officers to "help address current vacancies and front-line resource challenges."

"Prince Albert has many of the same characteristics as our town," Grenke said.

"It's a northern community that's remote. So we went with around the same number." 

To qualify for the Timmins police incentive, a police officer will need to have at least three years of experience. Grenke said they will also need to sign a contract that says they promise to work at least five years in Timmins.

Grenke said the police service has budgeted for the incentives and the salaries for the officers it plans to attract.

Applicants who wish to get the incentive will have until May 15 to apply.

Grenke said the short application window should give the Timmins Police Service an edge in attracting applicants.

"I'm not sure if anybody else will be ready by May 15," he said, referring to other police services in Ontario.

"Us being first out of the gate is kind of the primary focus the board had."

Timmins police Chief Dan Foy said they hope to hire between eight and 12 officers in that window. The city currently has 80 police officers.

"If you're considering policing, Timmins is a very viable option and we're there to support our employees," Foy said. 

He added there's "never been a better time to become a police officer" because of the support for new and more experienced officers.

Incentives for new officers

The police service is also launching a tuition reimbursement program for new officers who join them by Dec. 31, 2024. The reimbursement will be available to people graduated from the Ontario Police College in 2023 or 2024.

Those new officers will have all of their tuition fees reimbursed, but will also need to sign a contract promising five years of service to qualify.

The Greater Sudbury Police Service said new cadets can choose to have the police service cover their tuition, but they then have to pay the service back after they graduate. The tuition payback is interest-free and the new officers can choose to have it come out of their payroll directly.