RCMP Watch

(CBC) - Vital communication centres that take calls from distressed people and dispatch police officers might be crippled by an earthquake or other disaster because there are no solid backup plans to keep them running, according to an internal RCMP audit.

The audit, completed last month, says the centres are also hampered by staff shortages, inconsistent training and a lack of psychological support for operators who perform stressful duties.

The RCMP’s operational communications centres are a key link between the public and officers on the beat, handling emergency calls, sending police to incidents, and enlisting other resources including ambulance, fire and tow-truck personnel.

There are 28 centres across the country, including 21 operated by Mountie civilian members and seven staffed with municipal employees.

The RCMP audit says that under federal security policy, the centres are considered a critical service whose sudden loss would “result in a high degree of injury to the health, safety or security of Canadians.”

Despite this, with the exception one communications centre in Ottawa, the auditors found no evidence of a comprehensive plan to continue providing service should the centres be knocked out.
Centres ‘may not be functional’

Work on continuity planning was underway and most centres had contingencies, but the reviewers noted “these are not adequate to address continued operations” if a centre were off-line for an extended period. In the event of disaster, the centres “may not be functional,” the audit concluded.

In a written response to the auditors, RCMP management said steps would be taken to “guide, assist and direct” centres in drafting adequate backup plans by December 2009.

The audit also says minimum staffing levels have not been clearly established, noting that in very small centres there is often a single operator on duty. “This poses a danger to the public, the members, and the operators themselves in the event they become incapacitated.”

In its response, RCMP management said studies were being carried out, but also cited a “lack of priority being given to bringing staff levels” to recommended levels. “This has been an issue in the past.”

The report includes numerous commitments from RCMP management to address the various shortcomings over the next three years.

An RCMP spokeswoman had no immediate additional comment on the audit Wednesday.