Here's why police are struggling to recruit new officers — and why some still want to wear a badge

Eric Luna Martinez has been around police his whole life.

"I was born in Mexico and I had a grandfather who was a police officer," he said.

The 17-year-old who lives in Hamilton said he wants to wear a badge, but also has reservations.

"The hatred people have toward the police and police brutality, that is pretty bad and quite frankly very demotivating," Luna Martinez said.

Lucas Giles, 20, is also an aspiring officer in Hamilton. He's set on joining the service, but said he gets "worried" hearing about staffing levels.

"You don't want to be burning yourself out," Giles said.

The considerations Luna Martinez and Giles have are some reasons Hamilton Police Service (HPS) are among the police services across Canada struggling to recruit people.

In Hamilton, police say 1,900 people applied to the service in 2020 but two years later, in 2022, just over 1,000 applied. The drop is causing concern over the quality of applicants and the ability to fill positions when officers retire or go on leave.

"Places like Surrey, B.C., and other out-of-province services are actually headhunting in Ontario for people to come out there because they're struggling too," Jaimi Bannon, president of the Hamilton Police Association (HPA), told CBC Hamilton.

Her comments come after seven officers died on the job across Canada over the past year. Police services have also faced mounting scrutiny for their use of force and demands on taxpayer dollars. 

Police services and the unions who represent officers are trying to improve their public image and attract recruits as existing officers retire and deal with low morale and burnout.

Sgt. Ryan Smutnicki, in charge of HPS recruiting, said the number of people applying to policing has fallen over the past five years.

The service currently has around 1,200 unionized members, approximately 850 of which are sworn officers.

Each year, Smutnicki said, the goal is to approve between 15 and 20 applicants and have them do 14 weeks of training at the Ontario Police College to become new sworn officers.