Montreal police force still falls short on diversity, anti-racism activist says

Despite efforts to diversify, Montreal's police force remains overwhelmingly white, according to its latest annual report.

Only 324 officers outof 4,586 in the police force are visible minorities, making up seven per cent of the total, the 2015 report says.

That's slightly up from five years ago, in 2011, when a total of 291 of 4,502 officers were minorities, for a total of 6.5 per cent.

Overall, visible minorities make up32 per cent of the city'spopulation, according to Statistics Canada.

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The lack of diversity is even more striking among female officers. Only 56 of Montreal police's 1,459 femaleofficers areminorities.

"Obviously, we need to do more," said FoNiemi, executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations,a Montreal-basedcivil rights organization.

The numbers are part of a larger problem seen across the province.

TheSretduQubecin particular stands out.Fewer than one per cent ofitsofficers are not Caucasian.

Click on the year to see how many visible minority officers are in the Montreal policeforcecompared to non-minority officers.

On mobile? Go here to view the interactive graphic.

Demystifying police work

Ingrid Cataldo, a recruiting officer from Montreal police, is tasked with making the city's force more diverse. She said it's a "priority" for the force.

"For a number of years, police have been working hard to recruit from cultural communities," she said in an interview.

Cataldo said her goal is to "break down stereotypes" and "demystify police work."

Among some cultural communities, there's a perception that police can't be trusted, she said.

"We have to work hard and communicate with families so that parents understand why their children want to work with the police," she said.

"In some countrieswhen you see a police officer you cross the street. Here that's not the case."

Cataldo said she regularly visits CEGEPs, community centres and the cole nationale de police du Qubec in Nicolet as part of her outreach.

'Perception of trust'

Niemi, who has long been tracking diversity in the city's police force, saidthe problem goes beyond recruitment by Montreal police.

• City of Montreal falls short on visible, ethnic minority hiring targets

Hestressed that addressingthe problem should be a priority.Diversity is key for a frontline service like police, he said.

"The more the police department reflects the population it serves, the better it is in terms of understanding, in terms of relations, and also gaining that perception of trust on the part of the public, and I think that's a key thing," Niemisaid.

Niemi said there's one area where there's been progress: the number of high-ranking officers from a minority background has climbed slightly, from three to nearly five per cent.

"We're talking about the ability of minority officers to climb through the corporate ladder," he said.

"That's also important because we're talking about mobility and the rise to management positions."