Calgary Police Service recruiting new officers in Metro Vancouver

Officers with the Calgary Police Service spent Tuesday pitching the pros of life in Alberta to potential recruits in the Lower Mainland.

At a job fair in New Westminster, Const. Andy Buck chatted with people interested in leaving British Columbia to start their policing careers.

"It's not lost on me that there's a perception that we're coming here and we're poaching people,” Buck said. “Whereas, the reality is we're not. We're just servicing a need, really."

The event took place just two blocks from the New Westminster Police Station – where NWPD is also looking to recruit new officers.

"There's always going to be a friendly rivalry between departments. A lot of us in recruiting know each other,” said Staff Sgt. Jeff Scott, who oversees NWPD’s recruiting efforts. “But it's normal that departments will recruit from across the country."

Recruiting efforts don’t just target rookies, either.

As officers retire or change careers, departments often want to replace them with experienced veterans poached from other police agencies.

"That's those officers from other parts of the province or police departments throughout the country,” said Vancouver Police Const. Tania Visintin. “We've been all over B.C. already. We've hired a bunch of experienced officers."

Although the VPD is always looking for new officers, Visintin says the department is not having a hard time finding them.

She said VPD has already hired 100 new officers this year and plans to hire 175 more by the end of 2023.

As part of that effort, VPD recruiters will be travelling to Calgary later this month.