Our new cops. Anyone notice anything, er, alike about them?
The force has also said it wants to increase the number of visible minorities in uniform but Thursday’s graduating class was all white, a change from recent years.
Const. Dean Simmonds, a recruiter who also gave diversity training and taught bias-free policing to the graduating class, said it can be hard to attract recruits from some parts of the community.
“It is challenging but I know we’re making an effort,” he said. “I’m doing that myself.”
Const. Simmonds hopes interested people from all parts of the municipality will sign up for the next class, which is to start in October 2009. He is planning various community events and information sessions to attract recruits. His next session will be on Oct. 15 at the force’s Northbrook training centre in Dartmouth.
Obviously, whatever they’re doing now isn’t working. Maybe that HRM race relations committee could look at it.
This article appears in Oct 2-8, 2008.
Visible minorities are very well represented in HRM Police Department. In much greater proportion than you realise and greater than their proportion of the HRM population. Check the numbers and the rank attained before taking a nasty, and misleading cheap shot. I am sure their PR department will make the information available. How many will be enough for you or will you be happy with a bias free selection process ?