Out of the Cake: A response to the Commissioner, Dr. Mike Webster, R. Psych.Let me begin by quoting David A. Brown, QC Chair of the Task Force on Governance and Cultural Change in the RCMP; you know, one of those “cake dwellers”. In the Task Force’s report of June 2007 (not much has changed since then) Mr. Brown wrote:
“During our consultation and analysis, serious problems affecting the RCMP were brought to the attention of the Task Force. Of these, the issues demanding the most urgent attention related to the impossible demands being placed on members and employees; demands that are compromising their health and safety…”
Categories: RCMP
IN-SIGHTS 
I had hopes that with Mr. Paulson as Commissioner, things would change. But then, when faced with allegations of ongoing sexual harassment, the RCMP's first move was to deny that any such harassment had occurred, and their second was to attack Cpl. Galliford, calling her a drunk.
Follow that up almost immediately with the RCMP raiding the home of the re-sergeance blogger, and the picture of “mis-management as usual” is complete.
I'm sorry to say I have almost no respect for the RCMP anymore.
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The RCMP is made of 2 parts. The Front line and the Executive. The constables and NCO’s are the front line and the “Commissioned Officers” the executive. Promotion to executive management, except in the rarest of cases is only from within.
The Front line try to do their best while increasing scandal shows a culture of corruption.
The saddest part is that for career advancement, aspiring members must check their ethics, integrity, and morality at the door. Lying to the public is expected.
The jettisoned virtues are seen by upper management as impediments that could unhinge the protected “image of the Force”.
Dr. Mike Webster has pointed out “the RCMP is horribly broken”. This was not just from the Dizenski inquiry; the tentacles of brokenness fell into daylight during the inquiry. Dr. Webster an inquiry witness had an opportunity to comment.
Dr. Webster has a few decades of experience with the RCMP. He has watched as RCMP policy was re-written to accommodate moral relativism and socialist expedience. At the same time the RCMP like other Police forces in Canada is run literally by a liberal “Fraternal Old Boys Club”. Members will corrupt internal investigations to avoid prosecuting a “brother” periodically “non brothers” are disciplined but only to placate public expectations.
Over time this corrupt practice has extended to protecting and obfuscating complaints about the larger organization because it could negatively impact Executive advancement – hurting a “brother”.
Managerial success in the RCMP for many years has depended upon and been interpreted as the ability to “Bury Scandal”.
Operating the RCMP in this fashion for the past 50 years has resulted in a Bi-Polar RCMP; that sees only two types of people, Friends of the RCMP or Police haters.
The RCMP is as Dr. Webster first stated “Over extended”. The over extension is on the front line where work demands are unreasonable except in a few of the smallest and quietest police offices.
The mis-managed executive of the RCMP thinks 50% of their employees being in administrative is a normal business model. RCMP management practices are so out of step with true “best practices” that the RCMP believes their incestuous management paradigm makes them leaders in the world.
RCMP Executive and managers provide themselves with an over abundance of support while the front line is perpetually told to make do with less in a “one size fits all” approach to addressing Municipal, Provincial, and Federal policing needs.
(Even the armed forces realized the “one size fits all” just does not work)
It is the front line that sees Internal burn out, PTSD, management victims, and internalized Human rights and criminal violations by mismanagement. The RCMP Commissioners downplay the reports. They never see such things, certainly not in their executive suites… any offending Commissioned officer is provided a lucrative exit package, and the problems are covered with payouts to any victims. The public never hears of these financial settlements because they are protected by non-disclosure agreements.
Commissioner Paulson represents the metastasizing cancer of the old boy network. He claims that a Re-Written RCMP act leading to more powerful management policy will be “the medicine the RCMP needs”
This is like putting a Tumor in charge of creating a vaccination to kill itself.
The vaccine will only conceal any indicators of the continued malignancy.
The RCMP has never been properly audited by the Auditor general.
Instead the RCMP is allowed/relied upon to provide it's own internal audits? This is like a patient who tells the Doctor all is fine …and the Physician makes no examination to validate the report.
Dr. Webster is right that the RCMP needs to broken up into smaller portions that can audited and more effectively do their jobs for the benefit of Canadians including the front line members of the RCMP.
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Excellent comment. I hope that we can avoid a situation where there are only two types of people: “Friends of the RCMP or Police haters.”
Society needs excellent law enforcement services, dedicated to protecting citizens and Canadian institutions of democracy. Officers should be given respect and fair treatment. In return, they must be unconditionally worthy of our respect and function with the highest possible ethics. That means, as it does for all public service, commitment to transparency and accountability.
Those of us who wish to see the RCMP improved are not police haters. In fact, if we lobby for a better managed force and equitable treatment for each man and woman serving, we're the opposite of haters. A parent who cares aims to influence his/her child to be the best they can be. Similarly many critics of the RCMP want to see it truly become an agency that is the best it can become.
Unfortunately, that particular goal is not shared by the officers of the highest rank nor the political managers assigned by the PMO.
Dr Webster has to be admired because when he tried to speak publicly about needed changes, the RCMP chose to punish him. He stuck to his principles and that's not something the people in charge are familiar with.
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