NCJ Number
133475
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 58 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1991) Pages: 53-55
Date Published
1991
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the principles and practices by which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) prepares its officers to serve a multicultural society.
Abstract
For the RCMP, with its diverse policing responsibilities in an increasingly culturally and ethnically diverse federation, issues of multiculturalism are critically important. The RCMP has identified a number of principles it applies in serving culturally diverse groups. It believes that respect for and sensitivity to the diverse communities is essential for effective policing. This attitude can best be implemented through a broad-based multicultural strategy. Training is an essential element of this strategy. The training must be ongoing and built into the policing experience; i.e., it must be more than a course or two on multiculturalism. A multicultural strategy and the training that supports it will be most effective if they are perceived by officers as integrated aspects of the philosophy and operations of policing. Further, the multicultural strategy and training must be developed in consultation with the ethnocultural communities served by the police. The RCMP has established citizen advisory committees and police-community liaison mechanisms to ensure that policing is structured to promote positive interaction and sensitivity to the needs and character of each community.