A Memorial University criminologist says any possible reform of the RCMP would take time.

The federal government released a report this week highlighting the RCMP’s capacity to address the threats posed by the changing and serious nature of crime and to focus on the most serious forms of criminal activity.

Among the last things, Justin Trudeau pushed for in his last days as Prime Minister was to emphasize the need to reform the RCMP.

The report indicates that Canada should modernize the RCMP as “a world class, intelligence-led federal policing organization.”

MUN criminologist Dr. Adrienne Peters told the Tim Powers Show on VOCM that reforming the RCMP is a process that will take time.

“It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight,” says Peters. “It’s going to take a lot of consulting with a lot of groups outside the RCMP of course because they’re going to have to think about who the…work and responsibilities are going to fall on if they shift from the kind of contractual and federal level to just that federal level.”