'There have been barriers,' but Winnipeg police aim to boost number of women in force with recruiting event

The number of women in Winnipeg's police force is declining, the service's chief said at a recruitment event Saturday, and he says he's taking steps to attract more women to the force.

"I think we all recognize that women have a vital role to play in our society and it should be reflected in the public services that we provide," said Chief Danny Smyth.

Sixty women, mostly in their 20s, took part in the second annual Future Women in Law Enforcement recruiting exercise at Winnipeg police headquarters Friday and Saturday.

Representatives from Manitoba RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency, Corrections Canada and Winnipeg police spoke to the attendees about what it's like to work with their agencies.

"You hear about everyone's stories," said Hope Scott, one of the participants. "It's closed the gap for me."

Research shows some women need to learn a lot about the profession before they even entertain the idea of signing up to become police officers, said RCMP Supt. Joanne Keeping. That's why recruiters make the annual event interactive, she said.

The event gives women the opportunity "to try out the equipment, test [it], feel the gun belt, feel the body armour, have a chance to do an interview, have a chance to meet with some of the men and women and the people behind each of our law enforcement agencies," Keeping said.

Between 14 and 17 per cent of Manitoba RCMP are women, she said.

16% of Winnipeg officers are women

At one point, 20 per cent of Winnipeg police officers were women. Now, 16 per cent of sworn officers are women, according to the service's latest data, from 2016.

"We saw an uptick in the 1980s, when I started, and many of the women that started alongside with me are now retirement age," said Smyth.

"Part of the reason we're doing these initiatives is we're trying to boost our numbers."

A 2005 report written by Candida Sousa, a University of Manitoba sociology graduate student, and based in part on interviews with officers found women had an especially hard time accessing elite units, like the homicide, robbery and street gang units.

Smyth said in 2016, the major crimes unit had a major restructuring, in part to help break down silos that excluded people.

"Certainly there have been barriers," said Smyth. "I think we've made some pretty big strides."

One of those was increasing the size of the major crimes unit to prevent cliques from forming, said Smyth. That has made it easier for young constables to enter those specialities, he said.

"We have more women in our major crimes [unit] now than we have had ever," said Smyth.

He did not respond to a question Saturday about what changes, if any, were made after the high-profile resignation of Patrol Sgt.Shelly Glover.

The former parliamentarian had returned to her previous employer, the Winnipeg Police Service, after leaving politics in 2015. She resigned in April in part because of the "toxic" work environment in the service, she wrote in a letter to Smyth that was obtained by CBC.

Smyth said the force will be adopting an updated version of the city's respectful workplace policy when it's completed later this year.