Equal Employment Opportunity Plan
January 2020
The Equal Opportunity Plan for Brantford Police Service incorporates the
following components:
- The recommended Statement of Principles as issued for Ontario Police
Services by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services:
The
Brantford Police Service believes effective workplace policies and practices
are founded on the merit principle - selecting the best person for the job. The
Brantford Police Service supports a fair and inclusive workplace, in which all
applicants have an opportunity to fulfill their potential; in which barriers to
achievement are identified, removed and prevented; and in which, as provided in
the Ontario Human Rights Code, every person has a right to equal treatment with
respect to employment without discrimination.
Accordingly, the Brantford
Police Service affirms its support for and adherence to the following
principles:
- Merit being the basis of hiring, which allows
individuals to be judged on their abilities;
- Initiate steps to eliminate barriers to equal
opportunity, including systemic barriers and to prevent new ones from
being established;
- Value different perspectives and experiences,
eliminate discrimination and harassment by effectively preventing it, and
responding to it in a manner consistent with zero tolerance; and
- Ensure that all individuals are given equal
opportunity for employment, regardless of race, sex, creed, colour, age,
religion, national origin, or physical impairment
- The plan identifies four (4) prescribed groups: Women, Indigenous people, members of
racial minorities, and people with physical impairments.
- The Brantford Police Service advertises as an "Equal
Opportunity Employer" evidenced by the recruiting section on our
website, job advertisements and other notices.
- Sworn officer applicants to the Brantford Police Service have a
complaints procedure detailed in this plan if a barrier is perceived in
our testing process.
·
The objective of the plan is
to ensure equal opportunities for employment and employment conditions for
persons in the prescribed groups.
·
The Brantford Police Service, during
the recruiting processes for sworn officers, will distribute voluntary,
self-identification questionnaires to all applicants in order to identify and
track systemic barriers as they apply to the recruit testing as a whole.
·
An annual review of the
Service's present employment policies, practices and procedures will be
conducted, including a focus on
examinations, interviews and assessment tools. The Service will monitor the relevance
and effective impact on the employment and utilization of the prescribed groups,
ensuring that they are inclusive and bias-free.
·
The Recruiting Coordinator
communicates with all unsuccessful applicants, civilian and sworn, and provides
them with an opportunity to review their test results, results in an effort to
assist them in improving their ability to meet the standards should they wish
to re-test with the Brantford Police Service at a later date.
·
The Service will provide
training to its members on race relations, diversity and Human Rights. The
Service's policy on Equal Opportunity, Discrimination and Workplace Harassment
will be reviewed with its members on an annual basis.
There are different avenues
available, should an applicant perceive there is a barrier or discrimination in
our sworn recruiting process and wish to complain.
·
A complaint against police may
be generated in accordance with the Police Services Act. Information on the public
complaint process and relevant forms are available upon request at the front
desk of the police station or the website of the Office of the Independent
Police Review Director (OIPRD).
·
To challenge the process as
discriminatory:
o
The
applicant shall advise the Recruiting Coordinator, in writing, within seven (7)
days of notification of failure to meet any of the recruitment standards.
o
The
applicant will be notified in writing, within thirty (30) days of receipt of
the complaint, of a meeting date and time with the Recruiting Coordinator
and/or the Inspector i/c Administrative Support Branch. Following this meeting,
if the applicant is not satisfied with the results, the complaint will be
forwarded to the Inspector i/c Quality Assurance by the Recruiting Coordinator.
o
The
Inspector i/c Quality Assurance will meet with the Chief of Police to
adjudicate the complaint. The Inspector i/c Quality Assurance shall notify the
applicant, in writing, within thirty (30) days of receiving the decision of the
Chief of Police.
o
If the
applicant’s concerns remain unresolved, they shall notify the Chief of Police
in writing, within thirty (30) days of receipt of the Chief’s
decision.
o
The Chief of
Police shall then bring the matter to the attention of the Police Services
Board for their adjudication. If the complaint cannot be resolved at the Police
Services Board level, the final avenue for the applicant would be a referral to
the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
The Equal Employment
Opportunity Plan will be reviewed by the Inspector i/c Administrative Support
Branch and the Recruiting Coordinator on an annual basis.
Recommendations for
improvements to the employment policies, practices and procedures of the
Brantford Police Service shall be submitted by the Inspector i/c Administrative
Support Branch to the Chief of Police.
- Merit being the basis of hiring, which allows
individuals to be judged on their abilities;
- Initiate steps to eliminate barriers to equal
opportunity, including systemic barriers and to prevent new ones from
being established;
- Value different perspectives and experiences,
eliminate discrimination and harassment by effectively preventing it, and
responding to it in a manner consistent with zero tolerance; and
- Ensure that all individuals are given equal
opportunity for employment, regardless of race, sex, creed, colour, age,
religion, national origin, or physical impairment
