City police still struggling with diversity: census
Despite claims of sexism, racism, Chief says morale is improving
A workplace census of the Calgary Police Service conducted last year shows work remains to be done on diversity within the force, with one female for every five males among sworn respondents, and 11 per cent who consider themselves members of a visible minority.
The report on the Calgary 2017 Workplace Census, authored by U of C academic Tamara Humphrey for the police service and made public last week on the City of Calgary ’s website, also indicates that 75 per cent of supervisory roles are filled by male respondents, two per cent of respondents identified as gay or lesbian, seven per cent identified as persons with disability and approximately 20 per cent speak a language in addition to English.
The document was based on 1,811 online questionnaire responses conducted between June 5 and June 26 last year.
But comments from respondents included in a qualitative analysis section of the report also indicate some fractures remain on the force, which came under the microscope after allegations of a culture of bullying and harassment emerged nearly two years ago.
Most respondents who provided comment questioned the relevance of the survey, with one saying “nothing will ever change here.”
Out of the people who chose to add comments to the survey, 19 per cent pointed to divides they have experienced within the organization, with one writing: “Until CPS is able to change the mentality from the top down regarding bullying of women, civilians and any minority in the service, nothing will change.”
Another respondent wrote that they have experienced “significant racism” at work, adding they are “concerned that this census will further hurt my career.”
While acknowledging some of the respondents to the survey had legitimate concerns that need to be addressed, police Chief Roger Chaffin said morale seems to be improving among the rank and file.
“I do get a strong sense that it’s moving in the direction it should be moving,” he said Sunday.
“We still have some issues to work through with behaviours in the workplace.
“We’re a large organization that’s brought many decades of its past forward with us, and sometimes change doesn’t come as fast as we’d like it to.”
Jen Magnus, who tendered her resignation at a Calgary police commission meeting last year, said the concerns cited in the comments section of the report are familiar, and that fear of retribution continues to be an issue for members.
“That fear is so great among the police officers,” she said.
Magnus added that even after she and retired police officer Marlene Hope went public with their concerns about the workplace, others remain worried that coming forward could ruin their careers.
Magnus and Hope spoke out in relation to a 2013 internal CPS workplace review made public in 2016 that contained claims of harassment, bullying and a culture of “intimidation and retaliation.”
Magnus noted that since the workplace census was conducted, police have hired a civilian to lead the human resources department, a step she called a good move.
Hope stressed that she and Magnus support the police membership.
“It’s out of survival that the majority of people allow this,” she said. “The leadership has to make the change.”
Mount Royal University criminologist Kelly Sundberg said the police service is making efforts to encourage visible minorities and women to join the ranks.
“The seventh principle of policing is the police are the public and the public are the police ... the police should represent a good crosssection of the communities that they police,” he said.
“They’re not there yet, but I would suggest that really meaningful and concerted efforts are being made to get us there for Calgary.”
Chaffin said this is the first time the force has undertaken such a sweeping survey of its members. In this case, he said, members were asked how they choose to be identified, meaning the numbers may not fully reflect the force’s diversity.
The data will help police brass further improve the department’s perception, Chaffin said, both among personnel and the public.
“We have to make sure everyone has a way to be heard,” he said. “You can’t say that when some people are not having a good time, it doesn’t matter. Now it’s time to unpack these numbers and see what’s working and what’s not working.”
The seventh principle of policing is the police are the public and the public are the police ... the police should represent a good cross-section.
The report shows 63 per cent of respondents identified as male and 34 per cent indicated they are female. Females make up the majority of the civilian base, at 66 per cent, and more civilian women are in supervisory positions than male civilians.
There are more females than males in the finance, strategic services, information management, and technology and respondent services divisions, while men outnumber women in the remainder of the divisions, with the greatest gap seen within infrastructure services, criminal investigations and patrol operations, the report states.
Eight per cent of sworn respondents identified as a member of a visible minority, compared to 18 per cent of civilian respondents who identified as visible minorities.