Wadley Angibeau realizes a dream he has had since childhood: to be a police officer in Montreal, his city, where he thinks he is most useful.
Within a few days, the young man from Haitian would enter the National Police School of Quebec in Nicolet with, in his pocket, a job promise to join the ranks of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM). end of the year.
However, his path is long and full of pitfalls. Until recently, the doors of the profession remained closed to him. He even tried his luck in Ontario. Again, no success.
” Since I was five I wanted to be a policeman, now I’m 25. I like the uniform, I like helping, I like serving. “
Then, last fall, it was all together. He joined an Attestation of Collegial Studies (AEC) program in police techniques. With the labor shortage, it benefited in a favorable context. This year, the National Police Academy opened 108 additional venues, including 90 reserved for diversity.
A breath of fresh air felt in the CEGEPs, which had to be received in Nicolet. Three cohorts entered AEC Police strategies have opened up, rather than the usual one, for all of Quebec.
Wadley Angibeau completed his program at Collège Ahuntsic in Montreal. Its class reflects the ethnocultural diversity of the Quebec metropolis. During our visit, we read on the faces of the students the pride that was there.
I feel like I’m lucky because I know a lot of people want to be in my positionsmiling novice cop confession. It is very useful as a practice and as a profession.
However, he grew up in Cartierville, a popular district where the relationship between the police and the population was not a long calm river.
” When we were young, there were prejudices. We said: “The police are racist, we are often intercepted”. I said to myself: “So I want to go back, I want to be the solution”. “
Mr. Angibeau was pleased with the statements he received at his place in which he was described on the occasion of traitorbecause he wants to choose other side.
The reputation of the police, an obstacle for recruitment
In the college setting, the reputation of the police was identified as a barrier to recruiting young minority professionals.
This is to fight against the recruiting agent’s prejudice SPVM Ingrid Cataldo meets young people in schools, CEGEP and even in universities.
Prejudices are sometimes strong and those around you can even destroy vocations. This is why Ingrid Cataldo has a mission of demystify the profession to young people, but also to their families.
He recalls that many newcomers have struggled with police abuses in their countries of origin, including abuse of power, unpaid violence or corruption, which can affect their understanding of the command forces. .
Students see my passion for the profession, I think I could find their motivation and take them to the diplomasays this female police officer who came from Chile who followed the same path almost 20 years ago.
For some students, as part of the program AEC police techniques, he was even a mentor because he accompanied them from high school to the gate of the National Police School. He said he didn’t hesitate to pick up his phone, even at 9 p.m.
Positive results
Collège Ahuntsic also offers a college diploma (DEC) in police techniques. In 2018, management set up an equity, diversity and inclusion program. The results soon came.
Until 2019, the DEC had less than 10% of people from diverse backgrounds. At the start of the 2020 academic year, 25% of students were considered to be from visible minorities, which includes the First Nations. In the fall of 2021, the percentage grew to 37%.
The success is due, among other things, to the change in admission criteria. They now place more emphasis on knowledge of multicultural environments. Similar initiatives have been implemented, among others, at the Collège de Maisonneuve in Montreal and Cégep Garneau in Quebec City.
We have not changed the required levels, but we have added a new category of candidates, explains the director of studies, Charles Duffy. Places are reserved for candidates from minority groups with different life courses.
Attitudes are changing, following George Floyd’s particular dealings with the United States and the various controversies that have rocked Quebec over suspicions of racial profiling involving the police.
Mr. Duffy hopes that these would-be police officers will contribute to improving relations with the population. A change of approach driven by the whole community. He admitted that there is high pressure on police departments to make their workers better present the public they serve.
In Montreal, less than 10% of patrol officers are considered from visible minorities, while a third of the population falls into this category. In Quebec, a small number of police officers are considered as such, compared to 6% for the total population.
Cégep is stepping up integration efforts
Previously, the profile of students from DEC is very homogeneous, says Dominique Rioux, assistant director of programs and teaching at Collège Ahuntsic. Most are people white from the middle class northern and southern suburbs of Montreal, many of whom have parents in the police or justice sector.
Our concern, once we receive students from diverse backgrounds, is to retain them, said Ms. Rioux. The program has a confusing history when it comes to maintenance: Students are admitted to small groups and they often leave, because they feel excluded or have not found their place.he says.
This is why cégep has multiplied actions to facilitate the acceptance of students with different backgrounds.
Professors are invited to get close to the students to be sure their arrival. From the beginning of the school year, a mentoring program was set up with Ingrid Cataldo from SPVM. She suppresses some worries along the way, Ms. Rioux. The cops who intervened were themselves from diversity, they acted as a role model.
Teacher Jean-Pierre Synnett has no doubt that this new generation will change the image of the police, especially in multicultural sectors. Young people who grew up in these neighborhoods know the codes of the streets, the daily lives of the people, the recurring problems and, often, speak the language of their community of origin, its former explanation. commander of SPVM.
He remembers bus trips to Montreal North with students from the suburbs. For most, this is the first time they have set foot in a multicultural neighborhood. They are like a new worldhe says, while emphasizing that students from these backgrounds more naturally establish closeness to the local population.
Wadley Angibeau was reassured by the reception within the program AEC police techniques. He doesn’t hide that he has some apprehensions before incorporating his training.
I thought there would be biases in my living environment and where I came fromsaid the young man. But coming back here, talking to the teachers, I see that you can do it yourself.
He hopes he can move on without having to worry about where he came from, whether at the police academy or when he becomes a police officer. SPVM.
For 10 years, if all goes well, he finds himself at station 21 of the neighborhood, in the Old Port of Montreal, helping citizens and telling myself that every intervention can change someone’s life.
Source: Radio-Canada
