Chaplains and Policing

Prior to Covid-19 and all the restrictions that have come with it, I would regularly head out for a ride along in the western part of downtown Toronto. I am a Toronto Police Service chaplain and over the past 18 years I have volunteered at three different times, with the present one starting in 2016. I wear a uniform but no weapons. I do however go to all kinds of calls riding with a different sergeant each time I go out on the road. In Toronto all divisions have their own chaplain.

The province of Ontario has over 100 police chaplains and our backgrounds and religious affiliations are varied and thus we call it multi-faith by definition. We have just created the Police Chaplains Association of Ontario where our hope is to formalize the training for all police chaplains. We are doing this with the support of the Canadian Police Chaplain Association which we are all part of.

Another purpose for the PCAO is to better define our role to the Police Chief's of Ontario. The hope being that this would filter down to the rank and file who often have no understanding of why their service has chaplains. Most chaplains are either clergy, retired clergy or former police officers. We even have one or two who are still active cops in Canada. The message we want heard is that we are there for cops and their families as well as civilian employees and their families. When employees are hurting, we want the policing communities to know that chaplains have experience in helping just as much as a mental health professional. They might be assisting in differing ways but even as a first point of contact, our role can be invaluable.

We want to encourage you who are peace officers reading this, to reach out to your chaplain if you have a need. Confidentiality is a key part of what we do but my hope is that we can also be a conduit to other resources within Wellness and Employee Family Assistance programs. Our desire is to be seen as a safe place in combating the stigma that is often attached to seeking help. Please understand that chaplains are not novices but in fact have a wealth of wisdom and experience.

As already mentioned, Services across the province have chaplains. If you need help locating one or would like to connect with me, you can do so at secretary@pcao.ca or 416.560.9508.

Chaplain Hillar Alkok