Laura Baziuk, Vancouver, B.C. (Canadian Press) – The RCMP enjoys the approval of an overwhelming majority of Canadians, but the force’s reputation has suffered in two areas of the country hard-hit by police scandal.
Nationally, 84 per cent of 5,800 Canadians surveyed last year said they “have trust and confidence” in the force. But in British Columbia and the Yukon, that number drops to 73 and 69 per cent respectively.
Mounties in the two regions have been mired in long-running, high-profile scandals and new incidents in British Columbia have added to the bad press.
The results are worse for the force’s leaders. About half of those surveyed in B.C. and the Yukon say they believe the RCMP has “strong, reliable leaders.” Nationwide, the number is 69 per cent.
Respondents in the Capital Region also had lower-than-average approval for the force.
Criminologist and former Mountie Rob Gordon, of Simon Fraser University, said the low views in those regions are no surprise.
“There’s been a series of events which I don’t think the RCMP responded well to, which they can’t compensate for by simply arranging for more musical rides,” Gordon said.
“It clearly is reflecting a shift of some kind.”
Pollsters Harris-Decima conducted the survey last June for the force and the results were quietly posted online.
The RCMP has done yearly surveys of the public, its contract and policing partners, and “stakeholders” such as government departments and non-governmental organizations since 2003. The feedback helps shape management practices and business planning.
The 2010 survey asked respondents their responses to two new statements: “I have trust and confidence in the RCMP?” and “The RCMP has strong, reliable leaders?”
The large public opinion survey is believed to be accurate to within 1.3 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Cpl. Annie Linteau, spokeswoman for the force in B.C., was asked about the poorer results in the province, where the RCMP’s contract with the provincial government is up for renewal in 2012. She would only say that public trust is vital to public safety.
Around the time the survey was conducted early last summer, Thomas Braidwood, the head of B.C.’s inquiry into the 2007 death of Robert Dziekanski, had condemned the four Mounties who shocked the Polish immigrant with a Taser at Vancouver’s airport. Meanwhile, the daughter of Raymond Silverfox, a Yukon man who died in squalor while in an RCMP drunk tank in 2008, launched a lawsuit against the force for negligence.
Gordon suggested the force’s declining approval ratings in B.C. are due to problematic recruitment, retiring officers, and the high-profile incidents of misconduct like the Dziekanski case.
More recent events haven’t helped either, including enduring criticism of Commissioner William Elliott’s management skills, the Kelowna, B.C., officer caught on videotape kicking a suspect in the face last January, and the 11-year-old boy who was stunned by an RCMP Taser last month.
Many of these incidents involved fresh graduates from training in Regina and were thrust into situations they were ill-equipped for, Gordon said. The increasing number of retiring officers compounds the problem.
“A lot of early learning involves learning at the feet of older, more experienced officers who passed on a heck of a lot of street knowledge,” he said. “None of that is available anymore.”
Rick Parent, Gordon’s colleague at SFU and a former municipal police officer, also questioned the RCMP’s training practises because officers are taught at the depot in Regina, and not in the areas where they will eventually police.
“Your training is all done in a kind of generic test tube,” Parent said. “When you roll out to specific areas of the country … you have to meet (their) unique needs.”
Compared to the 2009 public survey, the RCMP remained about the same in professionalism and honesty — 84 per cent and 79 per cent in 2010, respectively.
But while the force got a generally good response for the way officers prevent crime, the marks were poorer in 2010 than in 2009.
Nationwide, the poll showed declining approval ratings from the previous year’s survey for preventing youth crime (77 per cent in 2010, down from 83 per cent), organized crime (82 per cent from 88), and economic crime (77 per cent from 85.)
In terms of contributing to safer and healthier aboriginal communities, 74 per cent said the force did a good job in 2010, compared to 80 per cent the year before.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the results were released following an access to information request.
B.C. has low trust in RCMP: poll
By Tracy Sherlock (Vancouver Sun)
April 26, 2011
British Columbians have less faith in the Mounties than the rest of the country in terms of leadership, communication, accountability and public complaints investigations, a poll conducted on behalf of the RCMP in June 2010 shows.
Only 56 per cent of B.C. respondents in the survey said the RCMP is an accountable organization. Nationally, the police force fared better, with 76 per cent of respondents saying the force is accountable.
The force’s leaders received a low level of support in B.C. as well, with only 54 per cent of British Columbians polled agreeing with the statement, “The RCMP has strong, reliable leaders.” Nationally, 69 per cent agreed, while 14 per cent disagreed and 17 per cent agreed with neither statement.
Another area where the RCMP did not receive high marks was regarding the investigation of public complaints.
Only 57 per cent of British Columbians surveyed agreed with the statement, “The RCMP investigates public complaints appropriately and with transparency,” while nationally, 70 per cent of respondents agreed.
In terms of communicating openly with Canadians, less than half of British Columbians gave the RCMP a positive response.
In response to the statement, “The RCMP provides Canadians with adequate information about its work,” 43 per cent agreed, while an equal number disagreed. In response to the statement, “The RCMP communicates openly to Canadians,” only 48 per cent of British Columbians agreed.
Seventy-three per cent of British Columbians said they have trust and confidence in the RCMP, while across the country, a total of 84 per cent of respondents said they agree with the statement, “I have trust and confidence in the RCMP.”
For nearly all of the questions, B.C.’s positive responses were the lowest in the country, with the exception of Yukon, which consistently showed the poorest responses.
Last year, The Sun reported that between 2006 and 2009, the share of B.C. residents who felt the RCMP demonstrated professionalism dropped from 94 per cent to 74 per cent. For 2010 the drop continued, with positive responses to this statement falling to 69 per cent. Between 2006 and 2009, those with confidence in the force’s integrity and honesty went from 91 per cent to 69 per cent. For 2010, this question was divided into two parts, but stayed at about the same level; those who said the force is an organization with integrity numbered 70 per cent, while those who said RCMP personnel are honest was 69 per cent.
A number of high-profile events in B.C. appear to have undermined public confidence in the RCMP beginning when Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski was Tasered by RCMP members and died in 2007. One of the police officers present when Dziekanski died, Cpl. Benjamin (Monty) Robinson, 41, is accused of obstruction of justice after being involved in a 2008 accident in Delta that killed motorcyclist Orion Hutchinson, 21. Robinson has been ordered to stand trial and he will next appear in court on May 19.
Most recently, earlier this month a Prince George RCMP officer used a Taser on an 11-yearold boy, who allegedly stabbed a 37-year-old man. The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP is investigating while the West Vancouver police department conducts a separate criminal investigation.
Despite low numbers of trust and concerns about accountability, communication and complaint investigation, British Columbians are still mostly satisfied with the work of the Mounties.
Fully 96 per cent of B.C. respondents agreed with the statement, “The RCMP’s services are important for Canada,” and 82 per cent said they were satisfied with the RCMP’s contribution to ensuring safe homes and safe communities for Canadians.
The RCMP’s 2010 public survey, conducted in mid-June 2010, involved a random sample of nearly 6,000 people, including about 400 from B.C. The force has been conducting public opinion surveys since 2003 to get feedback about the job they are doing. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.3 percentage points 19 times out of 20 nationwide and plus or minus 4.9 percentage points 19 times out of 20 in B.C.
The RCMP’s national office did not respond to a request for a comment on the survey results before The Sun’s deadline.
“Public trust and support is essential for the police to do their jobs effectively, so it’s important for us to continue working hard to earn, build and maintain that trust on every shift and with every interaction we have with the public,” said RCMP Sgt. Rob Vermeulen, senior media relations officer for the E Division.