rcmp crisis analysis
TRANSCRIPT
Royal Canadian Mounted Police:
Crisis AnalysisPresentation Prepared By:
Jennalee Hughes
Background of the RCMP
• RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) is the Canadian National Police.
• Agency of the Ministry of Public Safety in Canada.
• Provides total police servicing to all Canadians.
• Three territories, eight provinces (excluding Ontario & Quebec)
Background of the RCMP
• They serve more than 190 municipalities, 184 aboriginal communities, and three international airports.
• Under the authority of the RCMP Act.
• The act is headed by the commissioner, who is under the direction of the Minister of Public Safety of Canada. • They have control and management of the force.
The Force
• The force is divided into 15 different divisions.
• Each division is managed by a Commanding Officer.
• Approximately 29,235 members of the force.
The Crisis
• Janet Merlo, former RCMP officer claims she endured 20 years of sexual harassment from male co-workers.
• Sexual pranks, lewd jokes, etc.
• Filed a formal complaint, but, the police investigate themselves and claim there is not a sufficient amount of evidence or witnesses.
The Crisis
• Merlo filed a lawsuit against the RCMP.
• Supervisors neglected to do anything to help Merlo.
• Breached duty to properly supervise their employees.
• Failed to implement adequate policies that would keep harassment & gender-based discrimination out of the workplace.
RCMP’s Response
• RCMP responded to the harassment allegations.
• RCMP Commissioner, Bob Paulson, vowed to transform the RCMP.
• "Accountability and leadership will be areas of focus for me and my team as we go forward.”
RCMP’s Response
• "These allegations do not represent the force that I joined and this condition cannot stand. I will sort this out in a way that Canadians can have trust and faith in the RCMP and just as importantly, that employees of the RCMP can thrive in a healthy, productive and harassment-free environment.”
Media Response
• CBC News – biggest news outlet in Canada
• Covered crisis efficiently and thoroughly
• Seemed to be neutral on the information they reported to the public.
• CBC didn’t place blame on RCMP, but they simply reported facts of the harassment claims.
Stakeholder Response
• Citizens of Canada
• Lost trust in the RCMP
• Complained on social media and discussion forums.
• They don’t think the RCMP did enough; simply reviewing the incidents and investigating does not suffice.
• Stakeholders think more action should have been taken; RCMP should have punished those who harassed their female co-workers.
Recommendations for RCMP
• More action needed.
• Better Crisis Management Plan.
• Should have responded with statements about taking action and punishing those who were the “harassers” and show more concern for the women who were harassed.
• Training classes to educate officers on harassment.
• Enact policies that will protect female officers.
THANK YOU!