Audit finds shortfalls with Ottawa police's recruitment, staffing efforts

CBC

5 days ago

A recent audit has found numerous shortfalls in the Ottawa Police Service's (OPS) recruitment and staffing that are affecting everything from deployment to training and psychological assessments.
The office of Nathalie Gougeon, the city's auditor general, released the report on its website Thursday. It's set to come to the Ottawa Police Service Board's finance and audit committee on Friday.
The report found a long list of outdated policies and said the challenges have historically led to staffing shortages, service gaps and "negative impacts on member wellness."
One problem concerns how many officers are deployed.
OPS is contractually required to maintain at least 42 patrol cars on duty at all times. But that target dates back 30 years, and doesn't account for population growth or the sharp increase in calls for service.
"OPS has not conducted a comprehensive review of its deployment methodology and associated targets to ensure it reflects current service demands," the report said.
According to the report, OPS recognizes the 42-car requirement is insufficient and has set an informal goal of 48 patrol cars.
Nonetheless, it often misses that goal.
The service is relying more on overtime to fill the gap, with overtime costs increasing 242 per cent from 2020 to 2024, when they reached $2.34 million.
The report warns that insufficient frontline resources could put OPS at risk of "continued operational strain and reduced service effectiveness."
The OPS is already taking action to address some of its staffing problems, including through a staffing stabilization strategy and the shift to a district policing model.
Long hiring process, missing records
Part of the challenge could stem from the amount of time it takes the force to hire officers.
While the standard hiring time for police forces is six to nine months, the audit found that OPS sometimes took longer than a year.
But the challenges go beyond the sheer number of officers.
The investigation also found that when it comes to mandatory training courses, documentation showing that officers had completed those courses was often missing.
The auditor's office looked at a sample of 25 sworn officers. In 11 cases, evidence that the officers had completed a patrol carbine user course was missing.
For anti-racism training, documentation was missing in four cases. Twelve of the officers were missing evidence that they had completed victim bill of rights training, while 21 lacked documentation for completing training on how to respond to critical incidents.
The auditor's office noted that it's possible the officers did complete the training, but there's no way to be sure.
"Without evidence that sworn officers have completed all mandatory training within the expected timeframes, there is a risk that these officers are not equipped or qualified to undertake their daily responsibilities," the report said.
'Unsuitable' recruits move through hiring process
The OPS hiring process includes psychological assessments to ensure "good moral character and suitability for policing."
According to their policy, candidates deemed "unsuitable" are supposed to be removed from the process and barred from reapplying for a year.
But that isn't always happening. The auditor's office reviewed 15 sworn officer staffing files and found two cases where a recruit was deemed unsuitable by the psychologist and nonetheless was allowed to proceed.
Psychologists can also deem a candidate "suitable with concerns," requiring further verification and validation. But there were two cases where there was no evidence that followup had happened.
"By not adhering to the established recruitment policies, OPS is recruiting candidates who may not possess the necessary mental fitness and suitability to serve in law enforcement," the report said.
While the OPS is falling short of its own policies on that score, the report acknowledges that — according to modern practices — psychological assessments shouldn't be used as a pass-or-fail criteria.
Instead, they should be part of a comprehensive approach.
In fact, the report finds that numerous OPS policies are out of date. While some have been updated in recent years, there's a long list of policies that haven't been amended in the past five, ten or even 15 years.
The auditor general's office made 10 recommendations. OPS management accepted all of them.