Toronto police graduates 160 new officers

Toronto Police Service graduated its largest and most culturally diverse class of new recruits in a ceremony Thursday.

The 160 new officers were sworn in and handed their badges at noon ET in a graduation ceremony at City Hall's Nathan Phillips Square.

In his speech to the graduating class, Mayor David Miller applauded their diversity as a reflection of Toronto as a whole.

He called it an "extraordinary testament to the nature of our city and the skills of these graduates" that 30 per cent of this year's graduates are visible minorities and 63 per cent speak a second language.

Some of the 32 languages spoken by the graduates include Konkani, Macedonian, Tamil, Swahili, Punjabi, Ukrainian, Urdu and Kalenjin . Seven of them speak four languages.

According to Toronto police:

- 61 per cent of the graduate have post-secondary education.

- 14 per cent have previous military experience.

- 14 per cent are women.

Once an applicant is accepted to the Toronto Police Service, they undergo a two-week orientation in Toronto, followed by 12 weeks of training at the Ontario Police College in Aylmer, Ont.

In the past few years, the Toronto police force has been actively trying to diversify its ranks.