The Toronto Police Service says it's on a drive to hire 175 people this year, but the union that represents police officers says that number does not match the number of people leaving the force.

Deputy Chief Peter Yuen told CBC Toronto on Saturday that the current hiring plan is part of efforts aimed at modernizing the police service.

"Toronto is the most diverse city in the world. We want our police officers to reflect what this city looks like," Yuen said during a recruitment drive held at Agincourt Collegiate Institute in Scarborough.

"We want to attract police officers from all walks of life. We want to attract officers from different communities."

He said while the plan is to hire 175 this year, the number is not set in stone.

"Next year there will be more, so the number is very fluid because we have to look at people retiring, people leaving and look at the needs of the city," Yuen said.

Hundreds leaving force, union president says

But police union president Mike McCormack has concerns about the force's recruitment plans.

He said some 232 uniformed officers left the force in 2017 and the number of departures so far this is 270.

"We are anticipating around 300 officers [leaving] this year alone . . . and by the first couple of months in 2019 we should experience another 100 to 150 leaving, so that's over 600 officers in a 20-month period and we're very concerned about that," McCormack told CBC Toronto.

'We have a staffing crisis'

McCormack said staffing numbers are the lowest they have been since 1999 in a city that has grown exponentially over the same period.

"We have seen a steady increase. We have a staffing crisis as we've been talking about for quite some time," he said.

"We have seen a 20 per cent decrease in uniform officers and civilians who support those uniform officers. We're very concerned about it. It is impacting service."

Police union president Mike McCormack says staffing numbers at the Toronto Police Service are the lowest they have been since 1999 in a city that has grown exponentially over the same period. (James Morrison-Collalto/CBC)

Late in 2017, Toronto police lifted a hiring freeze to confront what the union also said then was a staffing crisis.

The hiring freeze was brought in as part of the force's modernization efforts, which were introduced after the force's budget rose to more than $1 billion per year.

Many interested in joining force

More than 150 people attended Saturday's recruitment drive.

Bradley Grinzevicius said he's ready to say goodbye to his current job in sales and customer service to pursue a career with the Toronto Police Service.

"I've wanted to be a police officer my whole life. I have family involved in policing. It seems like an amazing career," he told CBC Toronto. "I'd love to be able to help the community, and I think the Toronto police to be a great place to do it."

Attendees at a Toronto Police Service recruitment drive held at Agincourt Collegiate Institute on Saturday. (James Morrison-Collalto/CBC)

Clay Min Tang said she always dreamed about becoming a police officer but was pushed by her mother to become a teacher instead.

"I really want to be a police officer, but in China we had lots of [restrictions]," said Tang, who has been living in Toronto for 15 years.

"And at the beginning, my mom said 'For a girl, you shouldn't be a police officer. That's a very dangerous job.'"