Why mass shooting inquiry said Canada should look to Finland for its policing model

The inquiry into one of the worst mass shootings in modern Canadian history says police training across Canada needs to be overhauled, and points to Finland as a potential model. 

The Mass Casualty Commission, the inquiry that investigated a 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia that left 22 dead, recommended the overhaul in its final report released in March.

It suggested all of Canada's police forces — not just the RCMP — look to Finland, which requires a three-year degree for police officers.

Under the current RCMP model, recruits spend six months at Depot, the force's training facility in Saskatchewan. That is followed by six months of on-the-job training.

The commission's report called this model "inadequate to prepare RCMP members for the complex demands of contemporary policing."

It also said the RCMP's operational effectiveness has been impaired by its "failure to embrace a research-based approach to program development and police education and its lack of openness to independent research." 

Lotta Parjanan, the head of education for Finland's Police University College, said there is a "big difference" between the two countries.

"Certain countries have very short [programs], that they can shoot, maybe wrestle, they don't know how to give fines," Parjanan said.

"But our education is based on the idea that we have a motto that police officers are civilized, we put a lot of effort on communication. The reputation of Finland's police is very good, the trust.  So when there is police, there is also respect involved."

Parjanan said Finland had a shorter training program for police about 50 years ago, but she could never see the country going back to that model.

The commission report quoted Kimmo Himberg, former rector of the Finnish police college, who said modern policing requires a complicated mix of skills and knowledge. As well, a thorough vetting of candidates is needed.

"We definitely do not want, as an example, Rambos, Rockys," he said.

"We want young people who are able to take initiative, make independent decisions, who have the characteristics for this so that we can build the education on those characteristics."

The RCMP has struggled with recruiting qualified candidates, especially in recent years, Chief Supt. Chris Leather testified before the Mass Casualty Commission.