The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) is growing.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday, HRPS said, "This evening, we were proud to officially welcome 13 new officers to our policing family. May your careers with us and serving the people of Halton be long, rewarding, and safe."
The service's budget for this year is $203.8 million, a 9.5 per cent increase from 2023.
In a meeting last fall, the service asked the board to approve an increase in hiring the number of sworn officers to 49 and civilian positions to 24.
Chair of the Halton Police Services Board Jeff Knoll commented on the importance of hiring, noting that "a big theme of this budget is dealing with the growth projections that the region is facing between now and 2031."
"It's very rapid growth, and in order to be ready to deal with that, we have to start today because we will be way behind the eightball if we delay hiring at all."
