It has been a rough couple of months for the Montreal police department; plagued by numerous scandals, now even the Police Chief's plan to regain public trust is coming under fire.
On Friday, Philippe Pichet unveiled a 38 point action plan designed to reform the SPVM and change the culture within.
However, critics say the timeline for real change is too long, with Pichet himself saying it would take five to 10 years for the full effects to sink in.
"People have to understand they won't have to wait 10 years to see some benefits in the police department," Pichet told CTV Montreal this week.
Pichet said eight of his 38 points have already been implemented, 10 are in the process and others will be completed by April, 2018.
One of the measures includes recentralizing power, which had been distributed to regional directors, to police headquarters. Pichet said the move in 2003 to decentralize power ended up creating competing groups, resulting in infighting and a lack of cohesion.
"From my point of view, we had to centralize all these people to make sure we have more of a team in this organization," he said. "To make sure eliminate any competition we might have in our different divisions right now."
The SPVM is the subject of several investigations, including the hearings into police spying on journalists, allegations of racial profiling, and allegations internal affairs investigators fabricated evidence to silence whistleblowers.
"The big focus now is moving ahead with all these files," Pichet said. "If they did something wrong they will have to answer for that."
Pichet added he would be open to having an outside organization handle all future internal affairs investigations, and hopes to see colourful police protest pants come to an end soon.