2023-2025 Business Plan: Year Two successes
York Regional Police made tremendous strides in fulfilling the goals of our organization in 2024
Our 2023-2025 Business Plan is guided by four key priorities:
- Safety and Well-being
- Recruitment and Retention
- Inclusion and Belonging
- Continuous Innovation and Improvement
Business plan goals are created to support two pillars: Our People and Our Community.
Safety and Well-being
Our people
In 2024, York Regional Police modernized key business processes and practices, enhancing the effectiveness and safety of our members by:
- Amalgamating the Call Diversion, Collision Reporting and Alternate Response Units to create a more effective, efficient response to low-priority calls for service
- Increasing minimum staffing levels for uniform patrol officers
- Introducing new positions, including a Business Continuity Specialist, and civilian Forensic Investigator
We continued to develop member capabilities to proactively respond to emergencies and keep public order by:
- Working alongside our police partners on a Provincial Bail Management project
- Prioritizing attendance and municipal, provincial and federal events
We enriched and promoted resources that support members’ psychological, physical, emotional, spiritual, and social health by:
- Implementing new programs, like the Wellness Vitality Incentive Program (VIP) and Healthy Start, which introduces new officers to mental health clinicians
- Completing a pilot project for a new dashboard that monitors exposure to traumatic incidents for frontline and communications staff
Our COMMUNITY
York Regional Police expanded regional law enforcement and crime prevention strategies to address emerging and ongoing crime trends such as auto theft, guns and gangs, organized and violent crime by:
- Enhancing the Adult Pre-Charge Diversion program, which creates alternate justice opportunities
- Launching projects like Dusk, which resulted in 20 arrests related to residential break and enters, and StrikePlate, a crime prevention initiative which resulted in 24 arrests and helped lead to a 20 percent reduction in break and enters in the target area
- Implementing facial recognition technology to enhance investigations
We continued to collaborate with community partners to identify and prioritize risks that contribute to crime, victimization, and harm by:
- Launching the Traumatic Incidents Response Protocol and Family Situation Tables Awareness initiative
- Enhancing relationships with the region’s seniors and vulnerable youths
- Completing presentations to town councils
We implemented a road safety strategy that ensures safe people, safe vehicles, and safe streets by:
- Creating and implementing a new Victim Liaison position
- Enhancing community services and crime prevention initiatives with municipalities
Recruitment and Retention
Our people
In 2024, York Regional Police strengthened members’ knowledge, skills and abilities to support personal and professional growth by:
- By reviewing various supervisory and coach courses
- Supporting new leadership/growth development opportunities for senior leadership with Mastery Academy and Schulich School of Business Executive Education
We provided flexible work arrangements to support member well-being:
- Creating new schedules to provide coverage and overlap in different units
- Providing additional training opportunities
- Providing an opportunity for accommodated members to work to implement a new online collision reporting portal
We implemented a people-first leadership framework to guide members’ career success by:
- Enhancing the promotional process
- Promoting future growth through secondment opportunities
OUR COMMUNITY
York Regional Police promoted programs and events to attract and mentor potential candidates by:
- Piloting a new recruiting outreach unit which attended 246 events to promote careers at YRP
- Implementing a Youth Mentorship program and developing a Teen Girls Academy
- Hosting two volunteer fairs and 10 community fair volunteer booths
We enhanced hiring practices that are inclusive and reflective of the community we serve by:
- Exploring a recruiting partnership with Seneca College
- Increasing the number of female applicants to uniform positons
- Enhancing community partnerships to enhance the recruitment of Indigenous candidates
We developed evidence-based strategies to inform talent acquisition processes by:
- Completing a review of recruiting strategies to develop an implementation plan to attract talent and hire for the next three years
Inclusion and Belonging
Our people
In 2024, York Regional Police collaborated with members to ensure that organizational processes and procedures are equitable and inclusive by:
- Securing a consultant to conduct an Equity Audit
- Continuing efforts to collaborate with members requiring accessibility accommodations ensuring they’re engaged in meaningful work
- Updating dress code and uniform requirements to ensure they are equitable and inclusive
We developed and implemented a comprehensive equity and inclusion strategy, focusing on addressing racism and racial discrimination by:
- Developing and implementing the 2023-2025 Inclusive Policing Action Plan
- Creating an Indigenous Peoples liaison program in partnership with the Chippewas of Georgina Island
- Completing the development of an organization-wide anti-racism training program
We supported members’ understanding of YRP priorities and objectives through an effective and engaging communications strategy by:
- Continued engagement with the Executive Leadership Team through the District Platoon Visit initiative
- Better aligning organization priorities and objectives with member performance appraisals
- Beginning to implement recommendations relating to internal communication and marketing strategies as outlined by external consultants
OUR COMMUNITY
In 2024, York Regional Police enriched engagement with youth, seniors, victims, vulnerable residents, and members of Indigenous communities and diverse groups by:
- Attending various community-led events
- Hosting forums and information sessions with vulnerable communities
- Implementing various initiatives with shelters
We cultivated new and existing relationships with community partners and citizens to ensure that programs and services meet community needs by:
- Partnering with John Howard Society to implement the Adult Pre-Charge Diversion program across York Region
- Continuing collaboration with Region hospitals
- Enhancing relationships with faith-based organizations
Innovation and Continuous Improvement
Our people
In 2024, York Regional Police explored new approaches to align resources, including people and facilities, to meet the needs of a people-first organization by:
- Reconfiguring various service areas to meet operational needs best serving the community
- Completing a review of the frontline policing model
- Preparing infrastructure to accommodate the opening of the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre
We leveraged technology to support innovation and achieve strategic and operational objectives by:
- Implementing automated uploads of digital evidence
- Leveraging various technologies to support members, including a Wellness application and dashboard
OUR COMMUNITY
In 2024, we enhanced customer service and satisfaction by modernizing tools that facilitate access to resources and services by:
- Continuing to improve processes and options for online services, such as police record checks
- Introducing a pilot for online motor vehicle collision reporting of minor accidents in many communities