The decision by Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government to remove the requirement of a university degree to become a police officer is being met with skepticism by those who say a degree makes for better officers.
The stated reason for the change was to get more officers on the streets to address an increase in auto thefts, assaults, break-and-enters, and random acts of violence. Matt Yeager, a University of Western Ontario professor emeritus in criminology with 51 years’ experience, says there is a need for more officers but doubts that lowering requirements is the right solution.
“Agencies are having difficulty recruiting. There’s all kinds of reasons for it. Certainly these incidents that we’ve had, these major situations, whether they are policing the folks that brought Ottawa to standstill, or whether it’s Black Lives Matter, whether it’s the situation with aboriginal Canadians who are over-policed, all of that contributes to a very difficult situation,” Yeager said in an interview….