It’s a mix. There are people applying- I’ll give you a vague example. A division brought in four recruits during a class- three had restrictions of where they could be posted- family medical and religious access and one got a small spot, that one left before graduating because of the post,
That is anecdotal. But the numbers are- there is a slow slide to vacancy everywhere except the hubs- and those hubs also have vacancy where there has historically been none.
There is also the whole- “just recruit more” but the lower the experience the longer the work takes- the more toll it takes- the higher the burnout- leading to more complaints and conduct which leads to shorter careers….we are getting seriously shortened healthy periods from people.
The number of RCMP officers on long-term sick leave has surged by 184 per cent over the past 15 years, according to a report from the RCMP Management Advisory Board (MAB).
www.ctvnews.ca
And the number is growing- and in that 1700 members that are off long term- they are by and large frontline slots not sitting in HQs and district offices….
So the more detachments like say the ones that are functionally below 50% staffing- they are burning out the officers left behind…who don’t have the experience to possibly make it through the posting off their knowledge and know how.
Recruiting does one job, but it doesn’t do all the jobs we need- there is such a hot market for experienced rcmp members that you’ve got a brain drain at 15 years to really Gucci jobs elsewhere.
We get experienced officers. We poach some experienced leadership. But again- those are filling up the front line in the spots that are drying up.