Saint John Police Force hosts first female-focused recruitment camp

Saint John Police Force held their first female only recruitment camp as part of a plan to increase the number of women officers.

After holding successful Recruitment and Diversity camps in 2024, the Saint John Police Force held its first female focused recruitment camp on Thursday.

The full day course allowed participants to learn about the duties of a police officer. Women got the chance to learn what it takes to join the ranks and play out everyday police scenarios like applying handcuffs and conducting a traffic stop.

The initiative is part of the force’s efforts to increase the representation of women and racially marginalized groups among its officers .

“Fifty-two per cent of our population is female and we don’t represent that right now,” says Chief Robert Bruce. “We’re trying to represent our community the best that we can. We did our diversity camps last year, which were very successful, and the reason for [only] women is because we want to attract more females to the job, which helps us serve our community much better.”

Leah Grenon was one of several participants who took part in Thursday’s camp. She’s says over the past year she has been looking into what is required to join the force.

While many questions can be answered online, Grenon admits getting to speak to someone with experience offers a different perspective.

“For example, I didn’t know about some of, like, the fitness test,” she says. “I know I could have found out relatively easily [myself], but I also got to discuss it with people who have done it before.”

Since the police force launched a five-year recruitment strategy to help meet the needs of the city’s growing demographics, the force has hired 25 new officers through help of programs like their recruitment camp. Five of the new hires have been female officers, and five others were visible minorities.

Potential future officers like Grenon know how important a diverse force is.

“Any different backgrounds are very valuable in the police force,” Grenon says. “But women especially because I think women obviously have a different lived experiences so they can bring different things to the job than men can.”

Staff Sgt. Shawna Fowler has high hopes after the camp for the next wave of female officers.

“They’re asking really good questions,” Fowler says. “We’re hopeful that maybe someone in this room would be interested in pursuing a career here or maybe spreading the word to somebody else about the Saint John police.”

The Saint John Police Force currently has 28 female officers in its ranks.

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