Saskatoon Police Service improving employment diversity, report shows

The Saskatoon Police Service continues to improve diversity within its ranks but needs to do more to reach its hiring goals, according to a report for the city’s board of police commissioners.

The report says, in 2017, 59 per cent of new constables and special constables were hired from what the report describes as employment equity groups, which include women, Indigenous people, visible minorities and people with disabilities.

Since 2002, the percentage of staff from employment equity groups has risen from 33.4 to 54.6 per cent. The Saskatoon Police Service approved the initial Employment Equity Plan in 2002.

The report also breaks down employment by occupation.

As of December 2017, 43.1 per cent of staff at the police service were women. Nine-point-eight per cent were Indigenous. Visible minorities encompassed 5.6 per cent of the workforce, while people with disabilities totalled 5.1 per cent.

The report says 12.7 per cent of supervisors are Indigenous, which is close to the goal set out by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.

The commission set out goals for a representative workforce in 2017. They include having 14 per cent of staff being Indigenous, 11 per cent from a visible minority group, 12.4 per cent being people with disabilities, and 46 per cent being women in non-traditional roles.

The report, completed by the police service, is expected to be discussed at the next board of police commissioners meeting on Thursday.