RCMP Recruitment boost. Image credit Twitter page of @rcmpgrcpolice
Ottawa/CMEDIA: The RCMP’s aims to boost recruitment numbers in marking its upcoming 150th anniversary in spite of national force’s practices and structure come under disatrous new scrutiny.
The final report of The Mass Casualty Commission (MAC) concerning the April 2020 shooting rampage that left 22 people dead in Nova Scotia was released last week
After naming a litany of RCMP fallings, the RCMP force was called by the MAC for it finally undergo the fundamental changes previous probes have demanded.
That finding came less than two months ahead of the Mounties’ 150th anniversary on May 23.
RCMP divisions have been planning to host various gatherings to celebrate this event, revealed by the Planning documents, with thousands of memento cards and special coins ordered for members.
The Mounties were also looking to to promote the anniversary by having Google to post a special RCMP “doodle” on its search bar, and work with sports leagues such as the CFL.
Hoping also to increase the number of cadet applications, not only this year but through to 2025 was expressed by one of the planning package.
“This is a significant moment for both the RCMP and our country, as the 156-year-old story of Canada cannot be told without the 150-year-old contribution of the RCMP,” one document read.
Spokeswoman Robin Percival was reported saying that the the force intends to mark the anniversary by acknowledging its past and how it continues to modernize, while still emphasizing its pride in its employees.
As the RCMP continues to be challenged with questions about the way it polices Indigenous Peoples, the force will also make efforts to advance reconciliation with its anniversary events, Percival said and added one of the only solutions is to have the RCMP perform fewer tasks.
The RCMP were recommended the commission to do away with its model of putting recruits through a 26-week training program at its academy in Regina, and instead have provinces establish new degree-based policing programs.
The National Police Federation, the union for RCMP officers, has not yet directly responded to the recommendation to phase out training at the RCMP Depot.
Reortedly led by the situation, the union has undertaken its own campaign to increase interest in the RCMP.
Th recruiting challenges of the RCMP as outlined in a 2020 internal report found the force was having difficulty increasing its diversity, with only about four percent of candidates self-identifying as Indigenous and fewer women applying.
Lynne Groulx, CEO of the Native Women’s Association of Canada reportedly said she thinks the force should use the anniversary to highlight reconciliation and added it took a long time to create that distrust. It might take quite some time to rebuild that.
Planning for several reconciliation-focused events and activities is underway, the RCMP said.
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