Police plan for improving relations with cultural communities

Montreal police are launching a new offensive to improve relations with cultural communities.

Five years ago, Montreal police created an advisory committee on racial profiling and a policy to prevent it.

And now, after learning from previous sensitivity programs, they're putting in place new training, workshops and awareness guidelines to deal with what they're calling the new multicultural face of the city. Programs also aim  at singling out officers who show racist or inappropriate behaviour towards ethnic communities and how to nip it in the bud.

Montreal police chief Yvan Delorme insists there is no racial profiling by police, adding the number of racially motivated complaints has been stable at around 40 a year.

"We work hard to get those complaints as low as we can and the best thing we can do is to be nearest (to) the different populations in Montreal."

Immigrants make up almost 30 per cent of Montreal's population. Cultural communities make up about 10 per cent of the police force.