Calgary officer calls for changes to the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police

CALGARY (CITYNEWS) – Canada’s Police Chiefs wrapped up a four-day conference in Calgary Wednesday where they focused on several issues.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) is adopting six new resolutions, to deal with issues of organized crime and cybersecurity.

Other key issues were reportedly left out of the conference according to Calgary Police Service member Kim Prodaniuk.

On a post shared on LinkedIn, Prodaniuk called out the CACP Board over a lack of diversity.

“We have 16 out of 17 positions that are male and one female. They’re all white and also, five out of five executive positions are male.”

Prodaniuk, who represents the National Women in Law Enforcement Association, is calling for a change in the board which is holding elections soon.

She said the prerequisites for becoming an officer have drastically changed.

“The old days of a police officer needing to be a 6’4 white male who is heavy-handed and can defend himself and members of the public, those days have long passed. I think now, modern prerequisites for police officers should be diversity.”

In March, Prodaniuk filed a lawsuit against the Calgary Police Service citing ongoing sexism, sexual harassment, and bullying.

READ MORE: Lawsuit filed against Calgary Police and Police Association

She said that’s another issue the failed to address at the conference.

“Employers have a responsibility to their employees to provide safe workplaces. This conference evidences (that) police employers in Canada have been negligent in their responsibilities to employees.”

In a statement emailed to 660NEWS, the CACP says “We respect Ms. Prodaniuk’s rights to express her opinions and wish to have the opportunity to discuss her concerns with her in a personal and constructive way before addressing any inquiries from the media on this topic.”

With files from CityNews