The federal Auditor General has found that RCMP vacancy rates were greater than the force’s critical threshold in 9 of 10 provinces in the country and that recruitment efforts were hampered by slow application processing.
Karen Hogan says the RCMP needs some 3,400 members and although recruitment efforts resulted in an influx of applications, the inability to process those applications in a timely manner had far-reaching impacts.
She says slow application processing was a “key factor” in recruitment efforts. “The RCMP missed its target processing time for 97 per cent of the applications it received. This made it harder to fill training classes, some classes were cancelled and fewer cadets were trained than expected, further contributing to the shortages.”
(VOCM News)
Meanwhile, she says a flexible posting plan was introduced in 2023, allowing new officers to choose the province or territory of their first assignment.
“The plan succeeded in attracting thousands more applications, however it also increased chronic vacancies in some areas.” She says the RCMP began phasing that plan out in 2025.
Hogan says she had a good conversation with the RCMP Commissioner about the issues she found and is hopeful that the force will address its “chronic shortage” of front-line police services.
