Doug Ford wants to lower the educational requirements for cops

Doug Ford wants to lower the educational requirements for cops

Ontario is lowering the bar for becoming a cop.

In an effort to attract people into policing amid a shortage of officers, Ontario wants to drop the requirement that potential constables have a post-secondary education, Premier Doug Ford says.

The controversial plan comes just weeks after the inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting that claimed 22 lives in Nova Scotia recommended the Royal Canadian Mounted Police create a three-year, degree-based model of police education.

“Police forces are telling us recruitment can be challenging,” Ford told a news conference Tuesday at the Toronto police college in Etobicoke, where he also announced free tuition and an increase in the number of recruits for the Ontario Police College in Aylmer.

The timing of the announcement is “strange” given the Nova Scotia inquiry recommendations and trends in the increasingly complex field of policing, but it’s unlikely Ontario will see a flood of constables fresh out of high school, said a police reform expert at the University of Toronto.

Research suggests police officers with university or college degrees have greater communication, problem-solving and social skills and are less likely to use force or get into disciplinary trouble, assistant professor Julius Haag said.

That makes it likely that such candidates will be the preferred candidates for policing jobs at a time when police conduct is under intense scrutiny.

“I don’t see this dramatically changing how police are hiring,” said Haag.

Opposition parties were skeptical of proposed legislation to change the Community Safety and Policing Act, which for years has required recruits to have a post-secondary education to increase levels of professionalism.

“It’s very concerning,” said New Democrat Leader Marit Stiles, saying university and college educations teach a wider view of the world.

“They (police) have a very difficult job, and they require a lot of skills including critical thinking to do their jobs properly.”

Solicitor General Michael Kerzner defended the change, which the Ford government could easily pass with its majority in the legislature, saying some candidates without degrees could bring valuable life experience from other careers to policing.

“The average age for a cadet that’s coming to the Ontario Police College is a lot older than years ago. It’s now in the late 20s,” he added.

“We want more people to have the opportunity to become police officers, people from all walks of life and backgrounds who reflect our diversity.”

Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw told the Star he supports eliminating barriers to police work but said “life experience” will continue to be an important factor in the hiring of future constables.

“We are still looking for candidates who are well-rounded, who are grounded in civic duty and community,” he added in an interview.

“We would certainly welcome any young person to come meet our recruiters and discuss the specifics of what it would take for them to become a competitive candidate for any role to enter the service, including the role of police officer.”

For years, police forces have been considering life experience gained in other roles, as well as volunteer and community work in addition to education, as they determine who to hire.

The province is also dropping tuition fees of about $15,000 for the basic constable training program — something Ford’s government has already done for personal support workers and some nurses to ease a health-care staffing crunch — and taking in more recruits for police training.

Waiving tuition will cost about $20 million.

The province is expanding the number of recruits sent by police forces across the province to the Ontario Police College in Aylmer by 70, increasing the size of each cohort to 550 people from 480. Starting next year, there will be four cohorts sent for training, up from three.

Recruits for municipal police forces must complete the basic constable training program at the police college within six months of being hired. Some forces have training programs before and after the program at Aylmer.

Courses at the police college include traffic law, human rights, diversity and professional practice, ethics, mental health for first responders, community safety, defensive tactics, use of force and de-escalation techniques along with firearms training.

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