'It's about having opportunity': Expo opens door to jobs with Winnipeg Police Service

Winnipeg police are hoping to bring more diversity to their ranks through a career expo designed especially for Indigenous people and newcomers interested in a career in law enforcement.

The two-day expo kicked off Thursday and will carry on Friday at the service's downtown headquarters.

"A goal of any police service, really, should be to try to reflect through its employees, what the community is about," said WPS chief Danny Smythin his opening remarks.

"That's what we try to do here at the police service, we make sure that we have people in our organization that truly reflect community, and of course we have a very diverse community."

Sixty-five people from in and around Winnipeg applied for and were selected to take part in the event, which sees current police members provide information on volunteer, cadet, civilian and police officer career opportunities within the WPS.

As well as giving an overview of the service's selection and hiring process, a release from police said the expo also aims to give those taking part an inside look at things like the service's physical abilities test, information sharing, specialty units and the police applicant exam.

Smyth told told the classroom of potential new recruits he hopes the expo will help them to see the opportunities available through the service and spoke about barriers he faced when he first tried to join the service over 30 years ago.

Standing five-foot-sevenSmythe said his stature meant he couldn't join up at first.

"Back in the '80s, when I first started, we didn't take short people into the police service," he said.

"There was rules actually you had to be five-foot-10and you had to be 165 pounds and I'm neither of those."

But when the rules changed, Smyth said he gave the service a shot and said hehasn't looked back.

"It opened up a different door for me," he said.

"It's about having opportunity and I'm hoping that a workshop like this provides each of you with an opportunity here."

According to the WPS 2017 annual statistical report 76 per cent of the service's sworn officers identify as white, while 10 per cent identify as Indigenous and seven per cent identify as visible minorities.