The Windsor Police Service has its work cut out as it strives to become more diverse following a workplace census which shows the majority of its officers are white men.
The 2018 census, which was presented to the police services board on Thursday, shows 83.7 per cent of sworn officers are men, while 71.2 per cent of civilian employees are women.
The report also shows only 3.3 per cent of police employees are of Arab descent, compared to 8 per cent of the residents of Windsor, which is considered the fourth most diverse city in Canada.
At Thursday’s board meeting, Chief Al Frederick said there has been a concerted effort to improve the diversity of the police rank and file.
He noted 40 per cent of the new hires in the last five years have been racially diverse.
The police service also has a diversity, inclusion and recruitment officer.
The report also shows respondents can speak 28 languages fluently, including Italian, Arabic and Spanish.
Superintendent Frank Providenti said the ultimate goal is for the service to mirror the community's make up.
"We've seen a huge increase in diversity in our membership,” said Providenti. “Just by looking at the faces around here, it's improved greatly. Ultimately, I would like to be exactly where our citizens in the City of Windsor are. Can we get there? I don't know, we're trying every day to do that and that's our goal.”
The anonymous survey of the 591 employees at the Windsor Police Service was done last spring. Nearly 99 per cent of the employees completed the census.
The last census was done in 2012.
