The Royal Canadian Mounted Police will reform the Entrance Examination for Diversity – RCI

The Canadian Federal Police want to eliminate cultural prejudices and Outdated standards, Trying to deal with what I called Toxic culture And the problem of systematic racism among its ranks.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RPMC) published a call for bids this week to find a contractor to handle applicant prequalification examinations. This initiative is part of the RPMC modernization plan, known as Vision 150, which also includes changes to standards to become an officer in the Canadian Federal Police

A thorough examination of these processes identified that despite major changes in processes and tools over the past decade, systemic problems remain.Tender says.

In particular, the gender-based analysis of current RCMP exams found that even when potential applicants possess interests and qualifications, there is evidence that the tests themselves can create barriers for a variety of candidates. Outdated criteria, the merits of which lack strong supporting evidence, can result in high-potential candidates being unable or unwilling to apply.

RPMC Commissioner, Brenda Lockey indicated that changes will be made in the recruitment process for new candidates for the Federal Police. At the end of last year, she testified before a House of Commons committee that this police force needs to better reflect the communities it serves.

We look at our organization as a whole and look at the systems, processes, policies, and procedures that would eliminate systemic racismLucki said in November 2020.

RCMP is facing declining nominations

The decision to rework the exam comes at a time when RPMC faces a staff shortage, especially when it comes to attracting candidates from ethnic diversity.

As of April 1, 2020, the most recent period for which statistics are available, fewer than 12% of Canada’s 20,000 Federal Police personnel identified themselves as visible minorities, according to figures published online on April 23. This number has not changed much in recent years and is still below the overall rate of such diversifications in the workforce across the country.

Women make up about 21.7% of the regular members of this police force, up slightly from 20.1% in 2011.

Compounding these challenges, changes in the Canadian socio-demographic context, such as a decrease in the unemployment rate and increased urbanization, have contributed to a decrease in the number of applicants for admission in recent years, despite increasing attempts to attract a wider base of candidatesTender document says.

In this context, RPMC cannot afford to bend applicants or exclude high-potential candidates based on outdated standards, tools and techniques..

Royal Canadian Mounted Police cadets at a graduation ceremony in Regina. (Source: Reuters / Valerie Zink)

To be accepted into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police training program, applicants must pass two exams. The first is the six-factor personality questionnaire, which rates applicants based on their friendship, independence, diligence, methodological ability, openness to experiences, and degree of openness.

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The second is the RPMC Aptitude Test. This test, according to the Federal Police, is conducted by about 10,000 applicants each year and tests seven skills considered essential to be a federal police officer: memory, composition, reasoning, judgment, comprehension, arithmetic, and observation.

Tensions with indigenous communities

But, as the Federal Police themselves admit, pre-training exams have been a barrier to some applicants.

Individuals in different groups have an unequal likelihood of obtaining the same score on a particular item, and the test is likely to favor one group over another.The document says.

Second, applicants’ perception of question types and supporting materials can influence their likelihood of completing the test. Finally, the test shows inherent cultural biases that indicate that current vocabulary selection and attitudes are outdated.

Lucki pledged to build a better national police force after former Supreme Court Justice Michael Bastrach published a devastating report last year after a series of allegations of assault and sexual harassment. Their report, published in November, concluded that culture within RPMC It encourages, or at least tolerates, anti-women attitudes, racism and homophobia among its many members …

Athabasca Chippoyan First Nation President Alan Adam reported on June 6, 2020, that Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers assaulted him in the Fort McMurray, Alberta parking lot in March of that year. (Source: CBC / Jamie Malbeuf)

The RPMC, an entity that provides contractual police services in all three provinces and in most of the Canadian provinces, has been accused of tolerating an atmosphere of systemic racism after a series of controversial camera incidents in which indigenous Canadians were mistreated. last year.

In the fall, Lucki is also questioned for her defense of federal police officers who acted during a raging dispute between the Mi’kmaw sea lobster fishermen who are indigenous. And non-indigenous commercial fishers in Nova Scotia.

Federal Indigenous Services Minister Mark Miller said that the RPMC did not provide adequate protection for the indigenous people there. The head of the First Nation Sepecnicatique, Mike Sack, called up the police force Useless He said he did not send enough agents to protect members of his native community.

Source: CBC / E. Thompson / RCI / RV Adaptation