RCMP has failed to recruit enough police officers to meet operational needs: Auditor General

The RCMP has not recruited enough new officers or effectively assigned its members to meet its operational needs, according to a new report from the auditor general — raising concerns about public safety across the country.

"As a result of chronic shortages of front-line police officers, the RCMP faces a higher risk of police officer absences and burnout, which could make it more challenging for the force to prevent and investigate crime, maintain peace and order, and contribute to national security," Auditor General Karen Hogan wrote in a report tabled Monday. 

Recruitment lags and staffing crunches have been some of the most pressing issues facing the RCMP, which is responsible for what's known as contract policing — the boots-on-the-ground policing in most provinces, the three territories and more than 150 municipalities across the country.

The Mounties are also responsible for federal policing, the increasingly in-demand core function of the organization which investigates cases including foreign interference, organized crime and counterterrorism. 

Despite flagging recruitment as a top priority since 2018, the auditor general's analysis of RCMP’s data shows that the shortage of police officers has actually worsened in the last two years, with at least 3,400 additional front-line police officers needed as of September 2025.

The report, which covered the period from April 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2025, also found the RCMP did not accurately identify the total number of police officers it needed to fully staff the force.

The RCMP set a target to recruit 12,879 police officers based on what they believed they could fund and train, Hogan told a parliamentary committee on Monday morning.

"That number is well short of what they need. And so you're not even aiming to recruit to meet your needs," she said.

As of September 2025, vacancy rates were above the force’s critical threshold of seven per cent in nine of the 11 provinces and territories served by the RCMP .

"These high vacancy rates pose a clear risk to the RCMP’s ability to maintain operational capacity and deliver policing services," the audit said,

One of the known irritants in the RCMP's recruitment process has been the length of time it takes for an application to be vetted. According to the audit, it takes an average of 330 days to process an application — above the RCMP's own 224-day service standard.

"It isn't a shortage of interest in the RCMP," said Hogan.

Of the applications that the RCMP processed during the audit period, only six per cent resulted in an offer to be trained as a police officer because the remaining applicants dropped out of the process (about 15 per cent), stopped communicating with the RCMP (24 per cent), were deemed unsuitable (37 per cent), or their application was still being processed (18 per cent).

The auditor general's office ran a survey to dig into those numbers. Of the applicants who responded, the most frequently cited reasons for withdrawing from the process were timing and personal reasons, eligibility requirements such as those related to fitness, or to pursue other opportunities.