Initial review of relationship with unaccredited college received

An initial review of the Calgary Police Service’s relationship with an unaccredited California-based college offering mental healthcare training was presented to the Calgary Police Commission at an in-camera special meeting last Friday.

The relationship came to the Commission’s attention following a media report questioning both the college’s legitimacy and the Service’s relationship with it. The Service was asked by the Commission to report on the quality of mental health supports available to employees, and how training and education requests are reviewed.

The Service had already initiated an internal review of its relationship with the college and a special meeting was called by the Commission to discuss the initial results of that review.

While some content of the initial review cannot be released publicly pending further investigation, some key findings that were presented to the Commission have now been released publicly.

“We continue to have serious questions about how the Service ended up paying for employees to take degrees from an unaccredited college, especially when there is a policy that forbids it,” Commission Chair Shawn Cornett said following the meeting. “We will ensure that this question, and questions around the vetting of the other training provided by this college, are thoroughly investigated and addressed.”

“This incident has unfortunately cast doubt in some employees’ minds about the quality of mental health supports available to them. We need to get to the bottom of what happened and restore trust in the system as quickly as possible so that employees will continue seeking out those supports when they need help.”