28 police recruits welcomed at Badge Ceremony

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, May 10, 2024   3:58 pm

(Ottawa) — The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) hosted a Badge Ceremony today to formally recognize 28 recruits hired in October 2023. Chief Eric Stubbs and Ottawa Police Service Board Chair Salim Fakirani welcomed the diverse and talented class, ready to serve the Ottawa community with dedication, professionalism, and passion.

The ceremony is an important part of recognizing the role of policing in the community and celebrating the individual successes of each officer.

The recruit class comes with a wealth of experience from their previous careers. These include Special Constables from the OPS and Carleton University, a military combat engineer, federal, provincial, and municipal public services, and complex community care, including mental health and addiction services, crisis outreach, and support for the vulnerable sector. Tradespeople have also joined our team and have plumbing, carpentry, pipefitting, optician, and farrier backgrounds.

These recruits are actively involved in the community through organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, Scouts, and local churches, demonstrating their commitment to making a positive impact.

Of the 28 recruits receiving their badges today, they bring a range of educational backgrounds in police foundations, law and justice, criminology, psychology, kinesiology and aviation.

While several recruits were raised in the Ottawa, Ottawa Valley and Gatineau areas, others have ties across Canada, including Northern Ontario, Toronto, Montreal, Laval, and the East Coast. Internationally, some recruits have lived experience in the United States, Germany, England, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, France, Haiti, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In addition to English and French, the recruits speak various languages, including American Sign Language (ASL), Arabic, Japanese, Creole, Korean, German, Farsi, Dari and some Pashtu.

Together, the recruits embody an opportunity to reach individuals in need and positively impact our community. They will hit the road with their coach officers in the last week of May.

The Ottawa Police Service is hiring! For career opportunities, visit ottawapolice.ca.

Follow our Recruitment Team on Instagram @ottawa_police_recruiting.

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Through the Community Safety Data portal data.ottawapolice.ca, members of the public can view, download, and interact with data released by the Ottawa Police Service.

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