Rethinking the role of the police through postsecondary education reforms: Opinion

As calls to reform or defund police services across Canada increase, some postsecondary institutions with law enforcement programs are re-examining their curricula to reflect those concerns. For example, Fleming College has launched a project supported by a federal grant to promote diversity in policing and police training to meet community needs for inclusive practices. Several universities across Canada have also launched degrees in policing in an effort to provide what they describe as a broader, humanities-based education. Brock University and Niagara College, for example, are phasing out their joint four-year policing program, and Brock plans to launch a critical criminology degree this Fall in its place. “Once we’ve determined the role and function we want the police to play in our society we’ll then… better determine how we select, educate and train police officers,” said Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, professor at the University of Toronto. “But until then, we’re tweaking with what we know is a broken system.” Medicine Hat News (National)