Difficult to find investigators in Montreal

Frederique Giguere

Friday, 16 February 2018 01:00

UPDATE
Friday, 16 February 2018 01:00

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We do flips over to become an investigator with the Montreal police, where a campaign of recruitment to its ranks has not identified enough candidates to fill the needs.

In the spring, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has made known its intention to add 130 police officers in the eligibility list in the rank of detective sergeant. To get there, the candidates who wanted to learn had to first pass a written test. If they dropped out the grade, they were invited to an interview. This last was for at least 85 % in the evaluation process. In other words, even if a candidate obtained the passing score on the first test, this result was far from guaranteeing him a place on the list.

The third to the next step

Finally, a little more than 400 police officers have shown interest to become an investigator.

The problem is that the SPVM is believed to have no difficulty to fill the 130 seats announced, according to our sources. However, only about one-third of the candidates managed to get up to the second stage, that of the interview. As the pool of applications was limited, the management has decided to add only 92 police officers to its eligibility list.

“It is better that they choose less, but that they choose competent, said a police officer familiar with the process. It is a degree important and that can be dangerous for the public to appoint a person who does not have the skills. “

Dissatisfied with the outcome of the process, the union has for its part filed this week a grievance to challenge the decision of the employer.

“The last process of selection of the sergeant-detectives has not been completed by the City in a manner consistent with the collective agreement,” said Martin Desrochers, a spokesman for the Brotherhood of police of Montreal.

As a grievance has been filed, the SPVM has not wanted to comment on the record.

Difficult year

The difficult climate of the last year within the organization explain in part the lack of interest by the police, according to our sources.

The item display in the spring coincides with the time when the old chief Philip Pitcher has suspended a third frame in a short time, in addition to say not to close the door to the use of false information in order to identify a source of journalism during his testimony before the Commission Chamberland. The agents were without a collective agreement since 2014.

Finally, to become an investigator, one must have at least five years of seniority at the SPVM. As the service has been much rejuvenated in recent years, this observation would also explain the craze is less important than expected.