RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson announced in March he’ll retire at the end of June. The Toronto Star is reporting that "The looming departure of Commissioner Bob Paulson has prompted some rank-and-file Mounties to call for a joint management approach to running the RCMP instead of the top-down hierarchical system some believe has left it unable to adapt to modern workplace expectations and norms." This is in relation to numerous sexual harassment civl lawsuits the RCMP settled out of court which displayed a pattern of unprofessionalism that permeated the RCMP right up to top management including Craig Callen and Bill Fordy here in BC.
Assistant Commissioner Brenda Butterworth-Carr's promotion to the position of BC's E Division commanding officer has been a colossal step forward. Word on the street is that the infamous swingers known as the Friends of Craig Callen are now running for cover. The question is, will the powers that be let her do her job or will they use her as a poster girl to cover up their mess and tie her hands like they have Duane McDonald and prevent her from actually doing anything while in charge. Time will tell. It always does. Yet the opportunity for a real step forward presents itself.
Bob Paulson talked the talk but he didn't walk the walk. He said he was going to eradicate sexual harassment from the RCMP but he failed to deliver that promise within his own office. The climate of unprofessionalism tolerating and promoting sexual harassment is an easy fix. Finding the political will to embrace the New York model and depart from the current harm promotion model is not. One thing is certain and that is with all the record fentanyl fatalities in Metro Vancouver, the harm promotion of the DTES is not something we should emulate anywhere else.
RCMP watchdog calls for civilian governance
CBC is reporting that "The RCMP will not be able to bring about the necessary change required to address its dysfunctional culture on its own," wrote Ian McPhail, chair of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP. "A change in governance is required, and such change must come from the outside."
The Georgia Straight is reporting that "A police psychologist who describes the RCMP as a pathological organization has won a battle against the Mounties. The College of Psychologists of B.C. has dismissed a complaint filed by the RCMP against Mike Webster regarding his professional conduct, including his critical comments about the force."
Federal Government should have retired him a day after his APPOINTMENT!
ReplyDeleteWHY does the RCMP continue to be lead by such DYSFUNCTIONAL OFFICERS!
The problem with the RCMP is it is run like it was when it was formed in the 1800s and attitudes haven't changed. The next problem is they were formed to police in rural areas but wound up policing urban areas something they have never been trained to do.
ReplyDeleteThird problem, head office is in Ottawa and as long as the problems don't bother Ottawa, nothing get done. of course after the class action lawsuite, it bothers Ottawa, it costs money. Now officers have Ottawa's attention.
, it takes time to change a structural environment. They could however, start with simply firing the worst offenders and its easy to find out who they are, like those mentioned in the lawsuits.
There was never a way for officers to have their complaints addressed outside of the organization unless they had enough money to go to court, which they didn't. Had the RCMP been unionized back in the 1970s with arbitration like all the other federal government workers, the problems wouldn't be there today. What they talk about today, was there in the 1970s and for fourty years it was all ignored.
the first thing RCMP officers need to be able to do is file grievances and have them heard by third parties outside of the RCMP, when they go outside the local level. It gives notice you could be fired for wrong doing. When other federal government workers charge harassment/bullying etc. there are investigations along the way, usually by outsiders.
The RCMP needs to unload the large detachments in Canada, anything over 25k in population ought to have its own police force. It would save taxpayers at the national level a lot of money.
It will be nice to see the back end of Paulson who was part of the problem. It remains to see if his "friends" also leave. Of course if the appoint another problem nothing will change and policing in this country will continue to decline. Really how can police do their job if they are living in constant stress and fear and that is from their collegues, not the criminals.