RCMP APPLICANT GENERAL CHIT CHAT

[Prairieplp]

Well it's official (sort of), RECs have arrived (almost).

In 2023-24, the RCMP will:
finalize the implementation plan to support a national roll-out of Recruitment Evaluation Centres, where candidates will be assessed on modern characteristics and attributes through a number of simulations, exercises, fitness testing, and interviews in a face-to-face environment;

Recruitment Modernization
In 2022-23, the RCMP established a dedicated Recruitment Modernization team to focus on modernizing its recruitment and retention models and approaches through a number of initiatives. This will ensure the RCMP is recruiting individuals who have the balance of characteristics, attributes, and diversity of identity and experience to be successful modern-day police officers.

The launch of the Recruitment Evaluation Centres is a key initiative for the RCMP to facilitate the assessment of candidates on modernized characteristics and attributes through simulations, exercises, fitness testing and interviews, in a face-to-face environment. In 2023-24, the RCMP Recruitment Modernization team will finalize an implementation plan to support a nationwide roll-out of these centres

Source: https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/corporate-or ... el-eng.htm

But wait, there's more, for the Federal recruiting process, there is a requirement to attend a 3-day Recruitment Evaluation Centre (REC) in Ottawa in September 2023.

This is going to turn into a big fail. Adding 2-3 day in person steps right before a big COVID fall resurgence plus cold/flu season. And since no expenses will be covered, who can afford to fly across the country for 2-3 days at a time?

No mention of RFI anymore so I wonder if it's part of the 3 day REC for the Federal Process or combined with some other new behavioural assessments. Combined with the new physical fitness test which looks a lot harder than the PARE strength wise, I am willing to bet a huge drop is coming in the number of applicants who get to the end of the process.

That's certainly interesting..

[Applicant12345]

What can I expect if I'm being posted to O division? I haven't received my detachment yet but hoping for Toronto.

[stribor45]

What can I expect if I'm being posted to O division? I haven't received my detachment yet but hoping for Toronto.

Hey congrats on your troop offer. How did you get O division? Did you ask for it or they assign you there? I am interested in applying as well.

Thanks

[HelloJayCee]

What can I expect if I'm being posted to O division? I haven't received my detachment yet but hoping for Toronto.

Do you have any sort of additional Policing/Military training?

If not then no you have no chance of getting posted back to Ontario.

You won't receive your detachment until like week 16 of Depot.

[Ont. RCMP Recruiter]

Hello all,

Just over 7 years ago I posted and "lurked" on this forum as an RCMP applicant. Today, I take over the reigns as your new representative of the "O" Division Proactive Recruiter team.

Suffice to say, this forum meant a lot to me in 2015/2016 when I was an RCMP applicant and I got a lot out of it. I hope to be here for those of you now with questions about the application process and beyond.

Please feel free to reach out to me at anytime and join me in thanking Cst. Holdway for lending his time and energy to these Forums for the last 2 years.

Cst. Andrew McCarthy
"O" Division

[EastCoastBestCoast]

Hello all,

Just over 7 years ago I posted and "lurked" on this forum as an RCMP applicant. Today, I take over the reigns as your new representative of the "O" Division Proactive Recruiter team.

Suffice to say, this forum meant a lot to me in 2015/2016 when I was an RCMP applicant and I got a lot out of it. I hope to be here for those of you now with questions about the application process and beyond.

Please feel free to reach out to me at anytime and join me in thanking Cst. Holdway for lending his time and energy to these Forums for the last 2 years.

Cst. Andrew McCarthy
"O" Division

Any info on the Federal Direct Entry REC and when exactly it will be in September? September is about a week away. And what happens there?

Any info on the specifics of the Federal Policing Recruit Development Program and how the steps and timelines are different? No mention of RFI for example.

[Applicant12345]

Any idea what you'd do as part of Toronto Airport's Border Integrity Unit?

[EastCoastBestCoast]

What can I expect if I'm being posted to O division? I haven't received my detachment yet but hoping for Toronto.

Hey congrats on your troop offer. How did you get O division? Did you ask for it or they assign you there? I am interested in applying as well.

Thanks

You need to apply to the Federal stream...they might send a few to Federal from Depot still, but they won't be after the Federal recruitment process starts moving since that's the whole point of having a separate process.

See here:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-d ... -1.6937969

"The RCMP plans to launch a direct recruitment stream for people who want to work in federal policing, one that would send them through a specialized training program and skip the 26 weeks' instruction at the depot."

Welcome to the Federal Policing Recruit Development Program
https://rcmp.ca/en/careers/become-polic ... nt-program

[stribor45]

What can I expect if I'm being posted to O division? I haven't received my detachment yet but hoping for Toronto.

Hey congrats on your troop offer. How did you get O division? Did you ask for it or they assign you there? I am interested in applying as well.

Thanks

You need to apply to the Federal stream...they might send a few to Federal from Depot still, but they won't be after the Federal recruitment process starts moving since that's the whole point of having a separate process.

See here:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-d ... -1.6937969

"The RCMP plans to launch a direct recruitment stream for people who want to work in federal policing, one that would send them through a specialized training program and skip the 26 weeks' instruction at the depot."

Welcome to the Federal Policing Recruit Development Program
https://rcmp.ca/en/careers/become-polic ... nt-program

I saw that post but seemed to me that they were looking for someone who had experience in personal protection etc. so I didn't apply. I am just the IT guy interested in policing so I didn't think I would be competitive. Maybe in the next cohort if they post it again.

[brihard]

Hey congrats on your troop offer. How did you get O division? Did you ask for it or they assign you there? I am interested in applying as well.

Thanks

You need to apply to the Federal stream...they might send a few to Federal from Depot still, but they won't be after the Federal recruitment process starts moving since that's the whole point of having a separate process.

See here:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-d ... -1.6937969

"The RCMP plans to launch a direct recruitment stream for people who want to work in federal policing, one that would send them through a specialized training program and skip the 26 weeks' instruction at the depot."

Welcome to the Federal Policing Recruit Development Program
https://rcmp.ca/en/careers/become-polic ... nt-program

I saw that post but seemed to me that they were looking for someone who had experience in personal protection etc. so I didn't apply. I am just the IT guy interested in policing so I didn't think I would be competitive. Maybe in the next cohort if they post it again.

For now, there’s a single pilot troop of straight-to-federal-via-Ottawa scheduled for this winter. That application process was open for two weeks, has closed, and is being processed. That whole troop will all go to protective ops out of National Headquarters (although geographically in Ontario, Protective Ops in Ottawa is NOT O Div and reports through NHQ). There are preliminary plans for further troops in future, but that’s a ways out.

Anyone currently going through Depot and destined for O Div has gone through the existing normal process. A small number of recruits have been going from Depot to federal investigative or to protective ops (usually with some professional background in protective). This will probably continue for some time until the federal recruit program hits its stride… That won’t be fast.

So- you can still go to Depot and have a chance of coming to Ontario for an investigative unit in O Division. Separately, there will be sporadic windows of direct to federal hiring through the new training stream that’s being built. For some time, both paths will coexist and overlap. Establishing a full federal academy and fully separating hiring will be a long project.

[EastCoastBestCoast]

New CBC article:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rcmp-f ... -1.6950735

RCMP federal policing recruits could soon skip Regina training depot, frontline policing

Head of federal policing says force ‘not doing one-size-fits-all’ anymore
Catharine Tunney · CBC News · Posted: Aug 31, 2023 1:00 AM PDT | Last Updated: 12 hours ago

RCMP officers make their way to a bus as they head off Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, before the visit by U.S. President Joe Biden to Canada, on Thursday, March 23, 2023.

RCMP officers walk past Parliament Hill on March 23, 2023. Mounties working in federal policing investigate national security threats, transnational and serious organized crime and cybercrime.

The RCMP is on the cusp of a major shift in how it recruits officers into federal policing — a move that would allow some Mounties to skip the training depot in Regina and the usual tour of duty in frontline policing.

"We're really modernizing our approach to say we're not doing one-size-fits-all," Deputy Commissioner Mark Flynn, the head of federal policing, told CBC News.

"It's a recognition that not everybody wants to do frontline policing prior to coming into this very challenging and rewarding work that we have in the federal policing program."

The RCMP sent out an internal note recently alerting members to the proposed change. The idea is to allow applicants who want to work on federal files — which include the RCMP's most sensitive and high-profile cases and involve things like foreign interference and counterterrorism — to apply directly to work with Flynn.

Successful applicants would then train at a facility in Ottawa, instead of at the historic training grounds in Regina, and would not have to serve in a detachment.

Deputy Commissioner Mark Flynn was recently promoted to lead federal policing within the RCMP. Flynn said he needs to change how he recruits officers to stay on top of a growing caseload.

"I would love to be able to investigate every single crime that I know of and every single criminal that I know. But I cannot," he said.

"There are times when I am faced with lists of priority targets, where we have to triage them and work on the highest threat, even though we know about other criminal networks that are operating that we can't target."

The RCMP has been sending its recruits to the RCMP Academy in Regina for more than a century. Cadets undergo a 26-week training program there before being posted to a detachment, often in a rural area. Those interested in federal policing can then request a transfer.

It's what Flynn did. He said he recognizes that career path likely discourages many people from applying.

"If there is somebody who is interested in coming into the organization and specializing, we don't want the traditional model of having people go do frontline policing be a barrier for them," he said.

Many reluctant to serve in remote detachments

Michael Kempa, a professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, said the policy change could address a roadblock that thwarts RCMP efforts to recruit people with higher levels of education.

"I obviously get lots of students coming into my office hours talking about careers in policing. Many of them have been very reluctant to consider joining the RCMP ... They say, 'I don't want to be sent to remote areas of ... northern Canada, northwest Canada to serve in local community policing initiatives," he said.

"I think if we're looking to recruit people that have those higher levels of education, that would certainly help."

The RCMP has set up a pilot project to test the idea. It's a direct entry stream for the protective services program, which expanded its services earlier this year to provide close protection for senior federal ministers and public servants in response to the rising threat of political violence.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say they are preparing to offer heightened security to senior government ministers and civil servants in response to rising threats of violence and instances of menacing behaviour.

The plan is to review the results of the pilot, make appropriate modifications and begin dedicated training for federal policing recruits in 2024 at a facility in Ottawa, Flynn said.

"If we're going to remove as many barriers as we can that impact our ability to recruit and retain people ... it's also important to provide that training option in the city where the work is, and where the people want to live," he said.

Flynn said the federal policing training course — which still needs to be approved by the RCMP's health and safety team — will focus on the demands of federal policing and provide updated, specialized training more often. The first cadets in the pilot project are getting 14 weeks of training, with an emphasis on close protection and driving.

"I went through training over 25 years ago and the training I received then was current then," said Flynn.

"But as I've gone into some of the positions that I have gone into, I will tell you that I should have had updated, more current training for many of those positions."

Not everyone is happy with the planned change.

Brian Sauvé is president of the National Police Federation, the RCMP's union. He said he couldn't comment on the specifics of the proposed training program because he wasn't involved in its development — but he praised the depot model.

It "ensures members of the RCMP are well prepared to effectively respond in their own communities, or wherever needed, to whatever emergency awaits, in contract or federal policing roles," he said in a media statement issued earlier this month.

"The overwhelming trend across Canada is to increase the standards for basic and ongoing police training, not reduce or silo them based on a specific need."

RCMP cadets attend a daily march at the Drill Hall at the RCMP depot in Regina on Friday, March 3, 2005. The depot model has been part of the RCMP's DNA for more than a century.

Flynn said that while he knows there will be concerns about the new approach, he has to respond to increasingly dire recruitment numbers.

The RCMP is falling short of baseline staffing levels across Canada, leaving detachments shorthanded and possibly putting public safety at risk.

For years, Mounties in federal policing have been posted to detachments to address gaps in provincial policing without being replaced.

Federal government's plans to implement N.S. mass shooting report still up in the air

"When you look at ... the demand and the evolution that's occurring in the the criminal networks — whether you look at organized crime supporting hostile states, or organized crime using hostile states' funding and services to further their efforts — we don't have the resources to combat [it] all at the same time," Flynn said.

"The reality for me is that if we want to become a modern organization, we have to make changes."
RCMP is not the 'FBI of the north': Flynn

Flynn insisted the upcoming changes are not a first step toward getting the RCMP out of contract policing.

Earlier this summer, the Toronto Star reported that the idea of transforming the RCMP into a Canadian version of the FBI is picking up traction in the Prime Minister's Office.

The idea, which has circulated in Ottawa over the years, is to pull the RCMP out of the business of frontline contract policing in eight provinces, three territories and 150 municipalities and shift its focus to federal policing.

"No, this is geared towards federal policing. [It] is not the FBI of the North. We are the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with a strong, proud history" said Flynn.
Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc speaks to reporters during the Liberal Cabinet retreat in Charlottetown, P.E.I. on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.

The federal government is reviewing the RCMP's contracts with provinces, territories and municipalities, which are set to expire in 2032. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said recently it's too early to hint at a decision about the future of contract policing.

"We think there are some things that are working very well, some things that perhaps need to be improved and some jurisdictions may decide to go in a different direction," he said during last week's cabinet retreat in Charlottetown.

"It's not even preliminary to say that there are plans to unscramble that omelette that quickly."

Mass shooting report recommends phasing out depot

Kempa said it appears inevitable that the RCMP will shed some of its contracts. Some communities — like Surrey, B.C. — are moving to replace the Mounties with new, local police forces.

"The fact of the matter is it'll never be like a binary light switch, where one day you flip the switch and the RCMP is just out of contract policing entirety," he said. "There's just too many places across Canada that are very remote and don't have the resources to establish their own independent municipal policing services.

"The question of RCMP reform is really going to require a very measured and adult conversation in the months and years to come."

LeBlanc also will have to decide soon whether his government will adopt the recommendations of the Mass Casualty Commision, the inquiry that reviewed the RCMP's response to the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead.

The commissioners have called for the RCMP to phase out the depot training model by 2032 and for the federal government to replace it with a three-year, degree-based training program.

[MTLCitizen]

Hello,

Do you have any information on the number of French troops scheduled per year ? Also, as a French applicant the process will take longer than a bilingual applicant ?

Thanks,

[Dorydory]

Regarding DEPOT training attrition, Recruits or Cadets have washed-out as early as the 1st footfall upon the unholy grounds between Dewdney & 11th Aves and the Mighty Wascana & McCarthy Blvd, because they only then realized the level of homesickness they were not able to stomach.
Atlantic Region hopefuls sometimes go there in the HOPES of their name being on a dart that lands on that Region when Shafting & Impersonal has the trasfer-decision party, but when said pointy-thingy hits the Prairies or BC, then they take their DEPOT Certificate, present it to their home PS, get a red-striped pair of pants, and heave a sigh of relief.
I gonged an applicant for a history of very poor past relationship decisions, was over-ruled by Recruiting, yet then they turned in their papers when they did not like their posting, and went on with real lives.
Think long and deeply before even putting in for that horsehide ticket to Pile O'Bones.

We had someone leave before day 1 because he was scared of the PARE lol.

From my experience, people take themselves out of Depot. By either thinking they are above the rules, not practicing enough, or rarely, not being a good fit for the job.

[Dorydory]

Well it's official (sort of), RECs have arrived (almost).

In 2023-24, the RCMP will:
finalize the implementation plan to support a national roll-out of Recruitment Evaluation Centres, where candidates will be assessed on modern characteristics and attributes through a number of simulations, exercises, fitness testing, and interviews in a face-to-face environment;

Recruitment Modernization
In 2022-23, the RCMP established a dedicated Recruitment Modernization team to focus on modernizing its recruitment and retention models and approaches through a number of initiatives. This will ensure the RCMP is recruiting individuals who have the balance of characteristics, attributes, and diversity of identity and experience to be successful modern-day police officers.

The launch of the Recruitment Evaluation Centres is a key initiative for the RCMP to facilitate the assessment of candidates on modernized characteristics and attributes through simulations, exercises, fitness testing and interviews, in a face-to-face environment. In 2023-24, the RCMP Recruitment Modernization team will finalize an implementation plan to support a nationwide roll-out of these centres

Source: https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/corporate-or ... el-eng.htm

But wait, there's more, for the Federal recruiting process there is a requirement to attend a 3-day Recruitment Evaluation Centre (REC) in Ottawa in September 2023.

This is going to turn into a big fail by adding 2-3 day in person steps right before a big COVID fall resurgence plus cold/flu season. And since no expenses will be covered, who can afford to fly across the country for 2-3 days at a time on little notice?

No mention of RFI anymore so I wonder if it's part of the 3 day REC for the Federal Process or combined with some other new behavioural assessments. Combined with the new physical fitness test which looks a lot harder than the PARE strength wise, I am willing to bet a huge drop is coming in the number of applicants who get to the end of the process.

They are starting to sound a lot like the Canadian Forces.
New online assessment is very similar to CFAT in design.
New fitness test is very similar to FORCE Evaluation.
The 2-3 day REC is very similar to the Military Police assessment.

Guess who else is having huge recruitment issues? The Canadian Forces because of their inflexible process.

So they add a bunch more in person steps, yet only require high school graduation.

"Following the initial screening, eligible candidates will complete career orientation and aptitude assessment at a Military Police Assessment Centre to ensure that you have a realistic view of the Military Police occupation and the potential to succeed."

Source: https://forces.ca/en/career/military-police/

But even the Canadian Forces has higher requirements to apply:
The minimum required education to apply for this position is graduation from an approved program at a post-secondary institution. For a list of approved programs, please contact your local recruiter.

"it is a very competitive process, lasting 3/4 days, where you undergo interviews, scenarios, tests and other screening in order to ensure that the branch has first-class entrants"

"The new MPAC was implemented in May 2002, and utilizes a number of tools such as a group dynamics exercise, a role-play, a structured interview, a background/integrity interview, and a skills test. The centre is set up so that every MP competency is tapped at least twice, each time using a different method. The MPOAC was introduced in October 2002. It, too, utilizes tools including a group dynamics exercise, two role-plays, a structured interview, a background/integrity interview, a management issues exercise, and an
in-basket exercise."

So the Canadian Forces copied the RCMP which is now copying the Canadian Forces.

TLDR: Recruitment Evaluation Centres (REC) = Military Police Assessment Centre (MPAC)

I had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing an MP class. I don't care what the "standards" are, those candidates were.. not high quality

[tarunpatel]

Anyone know how long it takes to hear back after a interview mines was done on Sept 26 and still haven't heard back?