SPOTLIGHT: Police officers

More women in uniform

CANADA’S police forces are recruiting more and more women, to the point where they now account for one out of every six police officers, according to a new report.

In 2004, police services reported almost 9,900 female officers, a 6% increase from 2003. At the same time, the number of male officers remained virtually unchanged.

These women represented 17% of the just over 59,000 police officers in Canada as of June 15, 2004, a proportion which has been growing steadily since the mid-1970s. Since 1980, the number of female police officers has increased nine-fold.

Just over one-fifth of the police officers in British Columbia were women in 2004, the highest proportion in the country. The Atlantic provinces had the lowest proportion, about one in every eight officers.

Senior officers

The proportion of female officers at all levels has been steadily increasing since the 1980s. In 2004, women accounted for 5% of senior officers, 9% of non-commissioned officers and 20% of constables.

In contrast, in 1986, they accounted for less than 1% among the ranks of senior and non-commissioned officers, and only 5% of constables.

The number of police officers, which rose about 1% from 2003, reached the equivalent of one for every 533 Canadians. During the last decade, the population of Canada has grown 10%, while the number of officers has grown 7%.

Canada had fewer officers per capita in 2004 than a decade earlier. However, police strength has been increasing in recent years after reaching a low in 1998.

Its current rate of 188 officers per 100,000 population is about 20% lower than in the United States and Australia, and about 25% lower than in England and Wales.

In 2004, Saskatchewan reported 202 police officers for every 100,000 population, the highest rate among the provinces for the fourth consecutive year. Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island had the fewest police per capita.

Declines in strength

During the past decade, most provinces have experienced declines in per capita police strength, the largest in Quebec. Saskatchewan reported the largest increase in police strength during this period.

A recent report commissioned by the Canadian Police Association and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police found that a relatively high rate of turnover due to retirements can be expected within the next few years among the nation’s police services.

It estimated that nearly one in four police officers working in 2001 would be eligible to retire with full pensions by 2006. Quebec faces the biggest challenge in terms of hiring and replacement. Fully one-third of officers working in Quebec in 2001 would be eligible for full retirement benefits by 2006.

You can read the full report Police resources in Canada on our website.

For more information, contact Information and Client Services (1-800-387-2231), Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.