YRP Recruiting Leverages Teamwork, Outreach and Technology to Find Talent

Starting in 2024 and moving into 2025, York Regional Police’s recruiting efforts have undergone significant changes: most notably bringing the Civilian and Uniform Recruiting Units under one command structure, areas previously housed in separate areas of the organization.

While this organizational restructuring did not officially come into effect until February 2025, Uniform and Civilian Recruiting spent 2024 getting to know each other better.

“Last year, in advance of the formal restructure that brought Uniform and Civilian Recruiting together, both of our units started laying the groundwork for deeper co-operation, working to streamline our processes,” said Jordan Bernard of Civilian Recruiting.

According to Bernard, both units discovered overlaps in recruitment efforts between those directed at civilian jobs and uniform officer positions.

“Someone who is interested in becoming a police cadet might be unsuccessful, but that same person might be interested in our 9-1-1 Communications Centre,” he said. “Now, Civilian and Uniform Recruiting can work together to reach individuals in each respective applicant pool.”

Both units are now attending events and tradeshows together, speaking to the same potential applicants in hopes of providing YRP hopefuls with a variety of career options.

“With Uniform and Civilian Recruiting working together, we are better positioned to reach people with diverse strengths and interests who could be a fit for any number of jobs in our organization,” said Karin Larkan, Director of Recruiting and Staff Management.

YRP is also expanding its recruitment footprint in the community, with the formation of the Outreach Unit, which started up in January 2024 with a sergeant, two constables and a civilian coordinator.

This unit attends events, trade shows, job fairs, universities and community functions to talk to the public about job opportunities at YRP. They also host information sessions at our facilities, some of which are tailored to women, diverse communities or experienced officers looking to come to YRP from another police service.

In 2024, the Outreach Unit attended 246 events, and moving forward, they are expected to add two new constables and a social media specialist to manage YRP’s online recruitment marketing

Beyond growing our community presence and combining the efforts of our Uniform and Civilian teams, YRP is now automating recruiting functions that previously had to be done manually.

SAP SuccessFactors is a cloud-based human capital management software platform that is now powering YRP’s recruitment, in addition to our core human resource, training and employee experience functions.

The new digital platform provides a more user-friendly experience on our careers web portal and simplifies the online application process.

“YRP is driven by excellence in enforcement, progressive ideas, and a commitment to equity and wellness in our organization and across our community,” said Larkan. “The recent changes to our recruitment processes will help us find talented individuals whose contributions will ensure we remain a policing leader in Canada and are prepared to face the challenges of the future.”

In 2024, the organization brought in 132 new sworn officers – compared to 96 in 2023 – and 94 permanent and temporary civilian hires – up from 87 in 2023.