Police chief right to champion diversity on the force

Kudos to Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin for trying to make this community’s police force look like this community.

While the face of the region has changed dramatically in recent years — largely due to immigration — the face of its police department seems frozen in time.

Even though nearly one in five of Waterloo Region’s residents belonged to a visible minority group in the 2016 Canadian census, the vast majority of officers in the local police force are white men.

And even though half the region’s population is female, women account for just 23 per cent of regional police officers.

It should be obvious to everyone that in today’s Canada, with its commitments to multiculturalism and gender equality, the more a police department reflects the local population, the better it is for everyone.

The more diverse a police department becomes, the more effectively it will be able to reach out and connect with every group and individual in the community — and the more they’ll trust it.

It’s depressingly common, for instance, to hear black youth in Canadian cities complain of being unfairly stopped by police. Surely the number of such incidents could be reduced or they could be handled differently if there were more black police officers.

Chief Larkin, to his credit, recognizes the need for change.

He knows the current reality isn’t good enough.

He’s also devised a comprehensive plan to improve the situation.

The heavy lifting, of course, remains to be done. But the chief ’s initial strategy is promising.

By the end of March, Larkin hopes to have hired two equity consultants, with one focusing on gender issues.

Increasing staff, of course, is no guarantee of success.

But the goals being set by the chief lead us to believe transformative times are ahead.

Just how diverse is this police force? And how easy is it for visible and ethnic minorities as well as women to climb the ladder to senior ranks?

The internal audit being ordered by the chief should provide this information.

What barriers lie in the paths of women and members of visible minority groups who are interested in policing?

How should the police force, with its eyes on diversity, recruit new officers? Then how should it help them advance their careers?

The community should expect answers and an action plan in the months ahead.

And if the chief proceeds with a plan to create a community advisory council to advise him on these matters, both he and the force can have higher expectations of a community buy-in for whatever comes next.

Larkin is unveiling his new diversity initiative at a sensitive time for the regional police.

A class-action suit has been launched against the department alleging sexual discrimination and harassment. To be fair to Larkin, he was working on the diversity and equity files before the suit was announced.

But many in the community will wonder if things might be different today if one of Larkin’s predecessors had previously done what he is doing now.

In today’s Canada, with its commitments to multiculturalism and gender equality, the more a police department reflects the local population, the better it is for everyone.