This playbook explores the importance of balancing fairness and risk management in Canadian public safety hiring processes and practices. Law enforcement, corrections, firefighting, and EMS roles are high-stakes roles, meaning any errors in judgment during the hiring process may directly affect public safety, organizational effectiveness, and employee well-being. Public sector employers must ensure their hiring selection systems effectively manage this risk while maintaining equitable access to employment opportunities. This playbook explores the importance of balancing fairness and risk management in Canadian public safety hiring processes and practices. Both objectives can be integrated into a cohesive, evidence-based approach. Highlights include: The role of pre-employment psychological evaluations and how their effectiveness depends on how they are designed, applied, and interpreted. Factors that can introduce bias into psychological evaluations, and ways evaluators can mitigate bias. Why effective public sector hiring depends on applying governance and accountability across all stages of the selection process.
