Ottawa police take to social media to aid in recruitment

For some, becoming a police officer is a dream—serving the public, at times running toward danger and the unknown—and while many apply, only a select few get in.

One new recruit in Ottawa found out in a unique way that she got the job.

As a 911 police communicator working inside the communications centre, Jessika Bolduc has handled all types of crisis calls.

“Some of our 911 calls are life-and-death emergencies, you may get someone on their worst day calling in,” she tells CTV News Ottawa.

In late October, there was one special dispatch heard over police communications radio. The call wasn’t a crisis it, was a job offer to join OPS as a constable.

“On behalf of the Ottawa Police Service, are you ready to join us in a new role as a police constable, new recruit?” was heard not just by Bolduc, but by many officers and other dispatchers on duty.

“It made me a little nervous,” she says.

She accepted over the radio communications system right away to what police are calling a ‘jobposal.’

“Absolutely, never been more ready,” Bolduc says. “After that, my message screen just flooded with congratulations messages.”

Like other police services, OPS is short on staff. According to Sgt. Maria Keen, the plan is to hire between 50 and 100 officers next year, depending on budgets set by council and by how many officers retire.

Taking to social media with ‘jobposals,’ helps in recruitment, Keen says.

“It takes a lot of creativity and time, but well worth it and, we get a lot of views and a lot of really good responses. I’ve had feedback from the public saying, ‘That made me want to apply.’”

Keen says she came up with the idea several years ago, and other police services are now also doing ‘jobposals,’ as part of their recruitment campaigns.

For Bolduc, who has worked as a dispatcher for three years, becoming a police officer is part of her DNA.

“I grew up in a military family, both my parents are military police, so I’ve grown up in the policing world and then, when I became a dispatcher, I just knew – it kind of clicked.”

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