The Civilianization of Police Work: Rethinking Recruitment and Training for Specialized Police Investigators

• In Event: POLWG Panel 9. Civilian Staff in policing: Experiences and evolving opportunities

Abstract

For the first time in Quebec’s police history, access to the police officer role is available without traditional training or an equivalent. This opportunity arises from the introduction of a new training program in investigation conducted by the Permanent Anticorruption Unit. Consequently, individuals from civilian organizational backgrounds without police experience can receive specialized training to become police investigators working within an independent police force dedicated to fighting corruption (Anti-Corruption Commissioner). Focusing on the feedback from 12 new police investigators who undertook this unconventional path, gathered through semi-structured interviews, the study of this program provides insights into the experiences of civilians transitioning to police work, encompassing their motivations, interactions with traditional officers, and perceptions of their role and contribution to the organization. More broadly, this research also highlights the issues raised by this initiative concerning the traditional Quebec police recruitment and training model. The results of this study shed light on certain issues raised by this innovative practice in regard to the traditional Quebec police recruitment and training model by demonstrating the effects and viability of the CLCC program. They show, among other things, that by modifying police recruitment and training methods, this program addresses a dual need : on the one hand, the need for diversification to fight effectively financial crime in its various forms, and on the other, the need for specialization to tackle the increasing complexity of criminal activities. It is also observed that investigators from civilian backgrounds can be considered equal partners to their police counterparts, both professionally and organizationally. This thesis contributes to the existing literature, among other things, by updating the concept of “police civilianization” and by showing that police experience and assimilation to the culture of the environment are not as essential as one might believe for training an effective police investigator.

Author

• Mavrick Langlois, Queen's University