The NCPE will create excellence for our police. “We are a profession but we need to move towards professionalism.“
(Quote courtesy of Mike Federico, Retired Deputy Chief, Toronto and Vice-President of C-CPR)
Why a National Centre of Policing Excellence?
The mosaic of Canada has changed dramatically over the years. Canada is more diverse than ever. Different generations have different expectations.
In recent years there have been numerous academic and government reports and inquiries that have recommended enhanced education for police officers.
Enhanced education requirements for all our police officers will elevate the standards of practice and provide the best possible outcomes while maintaining public safety and defending the rights and freedoms for all our citizens.
Enhanced police education with national standards will give citizens from coast to coast enhanced trust in their police officers.
We propose a National Centre for Policing Excellence
…that will do the heavy lifting to create an improved police curriculum. A National Centre for Policing Excellence will set nation-wide standards in police education and advance the professional practice of policing whilst increasing the trust of Canadians across the nation. Canadians will know that any officer they encounter will have the skills needed to perform his or her duties.
What would the NCPE achieve?
The world and our nation are evolving and so must police to meet the realities of the 21st Century. It is time to elevate policing as a profession because policing is an important element of our stability as a nation. We are now a diverse nation and we must stand strong as a democracy in a world with growing disorder.
- The NCPE will research and develop evidence-based course content to support education delivered at the local level by applying nation-wide principles and consistent curriculum standards prepared by a team of citizens, police and academics.
- Existing police academies and colleges across Canada could eventually be accredited for the quality of their pedagogy and the inclusive nature of the training environment. The educators should have advanced skills in adult education.
- Eventually, after a decade perhaps, nationally accredited examinations could assess knowledge. The curriculum must reflect the local community and adequately prepare recruits to serve our diverse society.
Police officers need the best skills and knowledge derived from what is proven to work to prevent crime, protect the public, and secure public trust. The NCPE could provide the curriciulum to achieve better educated recruits with certification enabling portable employment in any jurisdiction of Canada. Certified police officers will a standard level of ability and knowledge from the High Arctic to the 49th parallel.
The models that show the way for excellence in police education.
- The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPS) was established by Act of Parliament in 1929 to deliver excellence in the education of post-graduate doctors. Although education and health care are the responsibility of the provinces, the RCPS has succeeded in ensuring Canadian physicians are competent across the world. Physicians are trusted by Canadians.
- The College of Policing in the United Kingdom was created in 2012 to guide police officers and policing authorities to a higher level of professionalism.
A beacon of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement
The Challenge:
Canada’s diverse communities and evolving social landscape demand a policing model that is both responsive and proactive. While dedicated police officers work tirelessly across the nation, they lack important knowledge about Canadians and this hinders their ability to effectively serve and protect.
Our Vision:
The Coalition for Canadian Police Reform (C-CPR) envisions a Canadian National Centre for Policing Excellence (NCPE) that serves as a beacon of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement for police officers across the country. This Centre would foster a culture of excellence, providing officers with the tools, knowledge, and support they need to meet the challenges of modern policing.
Our Working Group:
In May 2024, C-CPR formed a dedicated Working Group composed of representatives from diverse national organizations, alongside policing and police governance experts. This collaborative team aspires to develop a comprehensive proposal to the federal government for the establishment of the NCPE as a first step towards a new era of police knowledge that would equip our officers for a very different 21st Century social environment. We anticipate the working group will require 8 months to 1 year to complete its work.
The Opportunity:
By establishing a sustainable philanthropic fund to support the advocacy efforts of the Working Group and the eventual creation and operation of the NCPE, we can:
- Centralize Knowledge: Develop a national repository of research, data, educational and pedagogical best practices in policing, accessible to all agencies.
- Standardize Education: Develop curriculum based on the latest research that can equip officers with the superior interpersonal skills and the important knowledge needed for de-escalation, crisis intervention, community engagement, and cultural competency.
- Foster Innovation: Invest in research and development in curricular content and the methodology of adult education.
- Promote Collaboration: Facilitate knowledge exchange and collaboration between police agencies, community organizations, and academic institutions.
- Enhance Accountability: Develop national standards for police education based on the outcomes of the curricular development work.
- Develop Certification: Develop methodology whereby officers can be certified as competent to work in any jurisdiction in Canada.
Your Impact:
Your support will have a ripple effect across Canada, directly impacting the safety and well-being of every community. By investing in the advocacy work of the C-CPR Working Group and the future NCPE, you’re investing in:
- Safer Communities: Better educated officers are better able to prevent crime, leading to safer neighborhoods and a stronger sense of security.
- Fairer Policing: Standardized education and best practices promote equitable and even-handed treatment and reduce bias in police work.
- Stronger Relationships: Community-focused initiatives and cultural competency education will foster trust and collaboration between police and the public.
- Officer Wellness: A new curriculum should provide the knowledge officers need to remain healthy, leading to more effective officer-citizen interaction.
- Increasing Trust in Police: All of the above should strengthen trust in police officers from coast to coast.
Why Support Us?
- National Impact: Your donation contributes to a project that benefits every Canadian community.
- Diverse Expertise: Our Working Group brings together a wide range of perspectives and knowledge to create a proposal for a NCPE that reflects the needs of all Canadians.
- Transparency: We will provide regular updates on the Working Group’s progress, the development of the NCPE proposal, and financial accountability.
- Legacy: Your support will enable a first ever effort to break down silos and enhance collaborative work between policing agencies and with the communities of Canada. This effort intends to uplift our police in the eyes of the public.
- Centralized Current Knowledge: Best practices and current knowledge will be available to every stakeholder.
- Citizens’ Trust in Police: An important outcome of improved and comprehensive police education will be enhanced trust.
- How will you apply my donation? We anticipate using the funds to gather reports, studies and findings that relate to police education in Canada. We anticipate paying students to conduct preliminary analysis of the material and assemble knowledge on pedagogical skills best applied for adult education of police officers.
Join Us:
We invite those who understand the vital peace-keeping role of police officers in our society to join us in this ambitious endeavor. Your financial support, no matter the size, will help us build a future where every Canadian officer has the knowledge they need to serve with excellence.
Call to Action:
Please make a tax-deductible donation today to support the C-CPR Working Group in their mission to establish the Canadian National Centre for Policing Excellence. Together, we can transform policing in Canada. Go to our donations page to give via Canada Helps today.
National standards will:
- Fill the voids of current education by enhancing the understanding of diversity, racism and mental health thus enabling officers to better understand and better calm people and de-escalate.
- Enhance the understanding of First Nations history and colonization and issues affecting marginalized people in Canada.
- Provide essential knowledge: social pedagogy, history of policing, purpose of policing, the nature of peace-keeping and the application of Peel’s Principles.
- Eliminate glaring inconsistencies in recruit education across the nation.
- Ensure education incorporates the latest evidence based police research.
- Reduce the burden for the oversight of police education and the cost of curriculum development for police agencies in Canada.
The NCPE would not infringe on the mandates of the following but rather would offer curriculum, research and pedagogical best practices to support these centres:
- Canadian Police College provides special skills training, executive development, forensics, hostage negotiation etc.
- Canadian Police Knowledge Network provides practical on-line courses in specific policing subjects and skills.
- National, provincial or municipal training centers operated by police services including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Depot Division.
The proposal has been discussed with leaders of the following organizations:
- a former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
- a former Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada
- 5 serving Senators
- a Deputy Minister in a department of the Solicitor General
- several academics who are professors and police researchers
- The federal ombudsperson for victims of crime
- The Black Coalition Against Racism (B-Car)
- Canadian Police Association
- Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police
- Canadian Association of Police Governance
- Canadian Police Knowledge Network
- a Deputy Minister of Advanced Education
- several serving and former police chiefs and executive members.
Further Reading; News Articles and Publications