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'Hire to retire': York Regional Police introduces new leadership program for young recruits

Program sees partnership between YRP, York University's Schulich School of Business

Yorkregion.com
June 7, 2023
Joseph Grimaldi

"Police are at a crossroads."

Those are the stark words of York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween.

For years, confidence in policing both south of the border and here in the GTA has been in flux.

Many, including those in the Defund the Police movement, have been jockeying to rethink policing for a new age.

Change has been too slow for many, but there are signs a shift to a new mentality might be taking root.

The York Regional Police believe the force has taken a step in the right direction with a new program that hopes to ensure all recruits will benefit from leadership training within the first three years of starting the job.

The Future of Leadership in Policing Program was launched in May and is a joint program between York police and York University's Schulich School of Business intending to 'strengthen the business acumen and leadership skills of both sworn and civilian members.'"

"We used to start leadership skills after they had been promoted," said MacSween, who referenced the struggles police in North America faced in the aftermath of George Floyd's death while in U.S. police custody. "Now we're trying to start building leadership from when you walk in the door."

MacSween said the challenges police are facing these days, combined with recent struggles to recruit new officers and repeated requests to learn leadership skills from younger officers internally, resulted in the decision to move ahead with the scheme.

Insp. Chirag Bhatt, who leads the force's training and education branch, said the program will consist of five streams:

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He said in the past, the service has offered courses internally and externally, but the benefit here is each stream will be able to build on the one before.

MacSween said the program will help officers representing the force act in the best interest of the people they serve.

"We want to ensure that the people that show up put their best foot forward," he said. "(We want them) to represent the police at the highest level while serving the community the best they can. We know it will benefit the community in the long term."