RANT - Part 2: The 1st indication that there was something fishy about PEI

*WARNING* The contents of this blog post may include profanity, anger and frustration. The opinions presented are solely mine and admittedly are somewhat biased. You are encouraged to come to your own conclusions.

Unexpectedly, the spring of 2013 came and went without an open position being posted with the Charlottetown Police Service. So we called our CPS contact and were reassured once again that positions would open up, but we would have to wait until the fall of 2013. We were living in different provinces at the time and were not excited for this process to be extended any longer, but we were still optimistic that the pay off would be worth the wait.

In the meantime, an open position was posted with the Summerside Police Department. Minimum qualifications listed were: (1) Graduation from Atlantic Police College or equivalent, (2) Valid drivers licence and (3) No prior criminal record. The asset qualifications for the position were: (4) University graduate, (5) Second language training, (6) Prior policing experience and additional police training. In terms of meeting those requirements, Check, check and double CHECK! So although this position would mean a significantly greater commute, we thought that it would be worth applying for considering that a long commute would be better than living in two different provinces. Additionally, we thought it was good experience to interview with a PEI police service, to get accustomed to the types of question which would be asked in preparation of the desired job with CPS.

Considering all of the minimum and asset qualifications were met, we never expected what came next. Weeks came and went, there was no contact from Summerside PD. We were concerned that the application had not been received - this was because the job notice explicitly stated that applications would only be considered if sent electronically to the HR department at a particular E-mail address. But the E-mail address provided on the job notice was not a valid address! We ended up searching out the appropriate E-mail address for the HR department on the City of Summerside web page instead. When we hadn't heard back about an interview, we assumed the application had not been received because it just didn't make any sense that an experienced candidate would not be offered the chance to interview. So we tried calling the HR department to no avail. No one ever answered the phone or returned calls to the messages left. In an act of frustration, an E-mail was sent to a rather high up member of the SPD inquiring about the open position. What was received was a jaw-dropping response: "Only those who qualified for an interview were contacted and we usually let local boys have the first go at these types of jobs". There it was in print, the first evidence of employment bias.  

Spring turned to summer and the RCMP announced that they were reviving the "Lateral Transfer Program for Experienced Constables". Thinking this was an ideal opportunity, an application to the program was submitted. It didn't take long to be contacted and great news! The RCMP wanted to accept the lateral transfer. There was only one little detail of concern - they wanted to post us to Northern Alberta. When we explained that the reason for applying was to try and get a posting in Eastern Canada, close to my job, our concerns were met with laughter. Eastern Canada, eh? The only posting the RCMP send officers to in that part of the country is Labrador. We were told that if we signed on for a 5 year posting to an isolated Northern Labrador community, that there was a chance we could be posted to PEI sometime in the future. Armed with that comforting information, it didn't take long to decide that the RCMP would not be a viable option.

Effectively, we were putting all our hopes into Charlottetown Police. And why wouldn't we? We had been advised by high up that people were scheduled to retire, that positions would be opening and that experienced candidates were desired. As we waited for a position to be posted, summer turned to fall and then to winter.