Nearly Twenty Years On: The Canadian Police Executive Community Revisited

Abstract

Abstract Between 2000 and 2001, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police published two studies on Canadian police executives. One was a profile of the police executive population, which was described as ‘…middle-aged, overwhelmingly male, somewhat conservative in outlook, practical in approach, and stable in habits… [but with] ambition, energy and application’. Such chiefs could be expected to spend a few uneventful years at the top before fading into much anticipated retirement. The second study (Biro, F., Campbell, P., McKenna, P., and Murray, T. (2000). Police Executives under Pressure: A Study and Discussion of the Issues. Study Series No.3. Ottawa: Police Futures Group, Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police) shows, however, taking charge at the top plunged more than 15% of them into a period of professional and personal turmoil that led to premature termination of their careers. The examination of a sample of the new generation of Canadian police executives and a comparison with the first group against the backdrop of 20 years of social change suggests that the second group is better educated and developed as leaders, more confident, better communicators, and more politically astute. They are also more diverse but not nearly enough, although there is a growing number of non-sworn leaders, with potential to change future policing dynamics and culture. Despite the challenges of rapid social change, the new leaders have avoided the turmoil their predecessors experienced. This may be because they are dealing with operational challenges for which they are well equipped rather than the fundamental structural and cultural transformation in which the first group participated and which brought more change to policing in 30 years than in all the history of Canadian policing.