As the RCMP struggle with staff shortages, Canadians interest in joining the nations police force has plummeted. Applications are down by half since last year with a third of those who do apply bail out of training before finished.
National Police Federation President Brian Sauve told parliamentarians in the Commons human resources committee, according to Blacklock’s Reporter, the trending decrease in applications is expect to continue.
“Policing is no longer considered as attractive a career as it used to be. Police services across North America are seeing a decline in applicants,” said Sauve. “For perspective between April and December 2021 the RCMP had received 6300 applications. When looking at the previous fiscal year the RCMP had received close to 11,800 applications. This shows a decline of almost 47 percent. In addition the RCMP is projecting an even further decline in applicants.”
The police force isn’t just being impacted by declining interest to apply but also one third of the applicants bail out before training is even completed and becoming a uniformed officer..
“We are losing one in three before graduation. I feel policing is being unfairly spotlighted. We support and protect every Canadians’ right to be treated fairly and equally. In return we ask for respect and fairness for our members who put their lives on the line every day,” Sauve told MPs in 2020.
“We are hearing more cases of members being yelled at, confronted, spat on and assaulted while on duty. This is unacceptable. All Canadians should be free from harassment and assault including those on the front line.”
The decline in officers and appeal to be in the police force comes after police have gotten massive bad PR in the last couple years.
The tanking staffing numbers and applicants comes after policing across North America has been painted in an increasingly negative light by Black Lives Matter and other anti-policing movements.
There were calls to defund police forces across Canada in 2020, citing incidents of police brutality and racially fueled violence.
Crime and gang violence is starting to ramp up again in B.C. as the Lower Mainland gang conflict gets worse and the province sees increasing numbers of homicide as of recent.
News of interest in law enforcement really started to hit rock bottom in light of the Freedom Convoy protests, which saw a joint force of municipal, provincial and federal police crack down on peaceful protesters in Ottawa after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act.
The never-before-used legislation also allowed the RCMP to investigate donations to the convoy as potential terrorist funding.
