Family and friends came out to celebrate RTC 160’s graduation.
The latest recruit class to graduate will put 47 new officers on the streets as demands on the police service continue to intensify.
Acting Chief Devin Laforce told the rookie cops “we’re grappling with escalating levels of violence, harm, and disorder, coupled with increased calls for service from the public.”
The graduation ceremony for Recruit Training Class (RTC) 160 took place on October 25th at City Hall.
“This group has a lot of life experience,” said Class Coordinator Ashlee Shepansky. “We have people with backgrounds in law enforcement, security, Corrections, EMS, the military, and the trades.”
New graduate Constable Jeffrey Fox who was with the RCMP prior to joining EPS, was impressed with the quality of service’s recruit training program. “It was very, very good. It has a lot of solid information that speaks to policing now.”
17% of the class speaks another language, including Dutch, French, Hindi, Mandarin, Marathi, Punjabi, Spanish, and Tigrinya.
“The diversity is huge,” said Recruit Selection Staff Sergeant Travis Kerr. “I've been working in this area for almost two years, five graduations now. And it never ceases to amaze me when I hear the bios of these recruits and just the wide variety of experiences and diversity that they have.”
RTC 160 volunteered 920 hours of their own time at various events like Operation Sole, EPS Half Marathon, the Chief’s Pride Breakfast, and the Inglewood Ball Hockey League Ball Hockey Tournament.
Acting Chief Devin Laforce with Constable Jack Redlick inspects the class.
In addition to 47 EPS recruits, the class included one Lakeshore Regional Police Service recruit.
Kerr said “recruitment and training is going really well. We are getting lots of applicants and we are hiring more, we are training bigger classes, to meet the demands and staffing issues that we’re facing.”
Deputy Laforce reminded the graduates that “policing comes with many challenges, but the true reward lies in helping others and keeping our communities safe.”
He said after six months of training they “possess the talent and the tools necessary to rise to the occasion and make a positive impact in our community.”
Constable Stephanie Meacham was a volunteer constable in Cambridge, England, for four years prior to moving to Canada and joining the EPS. She echoed the deputy’s comments: “I’m especially looking forward to just getting out into the community and hopefully making a difference out there and helping the people that really need it.”
Congratulations graduates of RTC 160, we wish you all the best in your policing career!