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By JESSICA MURPHY
The Canadian Press

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MONTREAL - Police chiefs from across Canada say they are committed to increasing diversity in their workforce, although they acknowledge they have their work cut out for them.

Steven Chabot, president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, said the Canadian police community wants to benefit from the country's diversity.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police was meeting in Montreal for its annual convention.

Chabot said during a news conference that most forces across the country have an employment equity policy in place that has made inroads in minority hiring.

"We are committed to reaching out to find ways, new ways to still better connect with all generations and all segments of society in order to benefit from our country's diversity," Chabot said.

"There's like this tipping point in which people are asking more and more for ways to get active and do some real things," he said. "Canada is an ideal place to meet the changes that will put us at the vanguard of policing."

Meanwhile, conference speakers and police said they faced challenges in hiring from minority groups.

These include distrust of police, language barriers, and competition from private enterprise.

Daniel Marc Weinstock, a professor of ethics and philosophy with the Universite de Montreal, said Wednesday some of the hurdles in recruiting immigrants stem from negative experiences in their homelands.

"In a lot of countries the police are perceived quite rightly not as an impartial servant of the public interest but the arm of (an oppressive) segment of society," he said during a news conference.

"You're starting off recruiting people from a disadvantage."

Jean-Guy Gagnon, vice-president of the Quebec branch of the police chiefs association, acknowledged there is work to be done.

"(Diversity) is a rich element for the community, but it brings challenges in terms of management," he said.

Gagnon noted the police are perceived poorly in some communities.

"It's not easy to be a police officer in 2008," he said. "You have to consider very, very complex problems.

"When we talk about diversity, it's not only a police problem, it's a society problem.''