Daniel Leblanc, Ottawa (Globe and Mail) – The RCMP is facing more upheaval after the Harper government dismissed the complaints of a group of high-ranking mutineers and decided to stand by the national police force’s embattled commissioner, William Elliott.
Senior sources said the Harper government has weighed the long list of complaints that top-ranked Mounties outlined over the summer against Mr. Elliott’s leadership style – namely that he screamed at his officers and did not treat them with respect – and opted to keep the RCMP’s first civilian leader in his position.
“The government has confidence in Bill Elliott, and he will remain Commissioner until he chooses to leave the position,” said a federal official who has been briefed on the matter.
The attempted ouster of Mr. Elliott, who was given a mandate to shake up the Mounties when he was appointed three years ago, comes at a time of considerable turmoil for the force. It has been buffeted by several controversies, including the investigation into the Air India bombing, the deportation of engineer Maher Arar, the tasering death of Polish traveler Robert Dziekanski and the botched investigation of serial killer Robert Pickton.
In July, at least seven assistant and deputy commissioners complained to their bureaucratic bosses about Mr. Elliott’s frequent outbursts. At the time, there were rumours of a management shuffle, and the moves could now be implemented, especially if the complainants feel that they can no longer work with Mr. Elliott, or if Mr. Elliott wants to have different people around him.
Sources said other changes are also in store for the RCMP, which is seeking more resources to fulfill its crime-fighting mandates. In addition, the RCMP is hoping to modernize its disciplinary system, in which the maximum penalty, short of dismissal, is a two-week suspension.
There is hope that proposed legislative changes dealing with the disciplinary changes will quickly go through Parliament this fall. Senior officers want to be able to impose larger financial sanctions, and to limit the length of time needed for the appeal procedure.
“We want to get rid of the folks who shouldn’t be in the RCMP, and there are folks out there who shouldn’t be in the RCMP,” said a high-ranking Mountie.
However, the main priority is bringing back a sense of cohesiveness to the senior RCMP ranks, where there are ongoing personal and professional rivalries. Sources said high-ranking Mounties continue to work with one another daily on the senior executive committee, but tensions remain. In particular, the situation of deputy commissioner Raf Souccar, who was widely seen as one of the main complainants against Mr. Elliott, will be closely followed by everyone in the RCMP.
Just before he retired as an assistant commissioner in July, Mike McDonell sent a letter to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and other government officials listing complaints about Mr. Elliott’s conduct. Other assistant and deputy commissioners vented their anger with the deputy minister at Public Safety Canada.
The so-called mutineers received the backing of Bill Sweeney, the recently retired former senior deputy commissioner, who told The Globe and Mail that tensions steadily grew after Mr. Elliott’s appointment. Mr. Elliott has said he would like to remain in his position for another two years.
“There was considerable discontent with the manner that the commissioner conducted himself, both around senior and junior officers. The tension was palpable, and I’m not surprised that people felt compelled to step forward,” Mr. Sweeney said in July. “The commissioner is a man of extremes. In some instances, his conduct was unacceptable to others around him.”
The government hired Canada’s former top spy, Reid Morden, to conduct a workplace assessment to determine the extent of the problems within the RCMP brass. His report has been completed but will not be made public, the Department of Public Safety said.
Read the two Duxbury reports and the Brown report. That is what is needed .
Today I read a article written by a Canadian Press reporter and in the article is a quote that Like GM……….
“They swept the house clean of the old guard. They’ve downsized, they’ve knocked out middle management and so on, and they just might survive. That’s the kind of thing the RCMP needs to undergo”
I couldn’t agreee more with Mike Webster, clean house, get on with it and lets at least attempt to improve the RCMP. If current members don’t want this to happen then they must leave.
In offices that are large and have a number of supervisors, the quality of the candidate can be very high if all the supervisors and management have equal say in the discussion of the performance aspect of the individual. Decisions based on written word of what “I” did in a given situation are not as instructive as the input of a supervisor who was present and can voice the positive or negatives of performance. Multiplied by a number of supervisors both of an operational and administrative bent, you gain far better insight into the overall abilities of the individual. It also pretty well negates the “fair haired boy” debacle. If all aspects are queried, the best should rise. You can easily prioritize a list of the most deserving of promotion, and with the assist of a relative and reflective written exam, arrive at a ranking for positions in any given area.
One of the often overlooked instruments is the 360 degree assessments that can be done on individuals for promotion. By questionnaire, the people that work with you, for you and those that you work for, are canvassed for input. They are pretty accurate and can identify weaknesses/strengths that would preclude/include them from/in a particular position. Used in conjunction with other analysis, it can be very helpful to the process.
The 1994 situational NCO examination was probably the closest to a relative written exam that had any discernible insight. In some cases interviews, such as those that followed the noted exam, can be quite revealing and instructive on the abilities/shortcomings of the candidate. It is quite clear to all major organizations that promotions should be a multi faceted process.
The RCMP process has changed regularly since 1994, on a yearly or bi yearly basis, which does nothing for morale, efficiency, or stability of the workforce. The thing that shapes a good police officer is experiences gained over a long period of time. Interesting to note that the hiring brochures from the 50’s to the 70’s all note that “Many years of experience are required before a member can be termed an efficient policeman.”
In its unholy zeal for “supervision” and “accountability”, the RCMP has greatly increased its staff of Commissioned Officers, without instilling in said level of management the abilities gained by the noted “many years of experience”. It hardly instills credibility or faith in the organization when persons with just over a decade of “service” are promoted to the Commissioned ranks and are expected to be leaders.
Calvin mentioned the “corporate memory loss” previously. When promoting inexperienced persons to those in a leadership position, you are asking for that to continue and be multiplied exponentially.
The RCMP may well be in for a “bumpy ride”, however, the officer that has 10 calls for service backed up and is attempting to deal with a present volatile situation is not going to notice right away.
I thought the musical ride was totally funded by outside financing and not by the RCMP budget. I too would mourn the demise of that prestigious and historical institutional icon. What next the Snowbirds?
Before I would scrap the musical ride I would take a look at the various HQ’s to see what kind of luggage is sitting around there. Some of that was done in the early 90’s when they did some HQ downsizing and scrapped the Bison band. Detachment commanders were terrified they were going to get a tuba player in their ranks!
I’m still with the times Tango, and I agree that the old way was great if you were part of the old boys club,( I never got past the the CFL club) the only difference now is that the old rules still apply; the younger members don’t know it yet. If you have 5 members all applying for a Cpl. position in a large or small detachment, the OIC or NCO knows who is on the board and if he knows one of the members he going to point at the list of names and guess what, he gets the job. So what has changed in 20 years? There forgetting they’re members and have become individuals when it comes to work. It all about how “I” can use this file as an example on my next promotion paper PRP.
I completely agree with you when it comes to the force getting back to police work and quite being social workers. That is better served by other government agencies.
The single thing I differ with you is with the Musical Ride. It is part of our past and I would hate to see it go.
I know the old promotion system wasn’t perfect, but I agree with Boomer that this one is for the worse. And the written tests are laced with questions that have nothing to do with being a good policeman.
About ten years ago I saw a paper that was done and in it discussed the pro’s and con’s of the new training program. Probably the biggest con of that was mentioned was a “culture of entitlement”. Add to that having the likes of Dr. Gary Bell designing and administering the program and a Carpet Cop like Bob Smart running the base, you can really see how the program has gone down the toilet.
Another problem with the current program is that it teaches members how to be police officers, but not real mountie’s. There is no pride in the red serge or the calvary history anymore. Polishing the Highbrowns and Sam Browne are mostly seen by cadets as something that cuts into their weekend and the amount of time they can spend at Habano’s.
Boomer you need to get with the times.
Twenty years ago promotions in the RCMP were based on “The old boys club” that’s great. . . if you were a “good ole boy.”
I agree the Force needs to go back to the KISS principal. The Force is dealing with trying to do everything, be everything to everyone. It needs to split the federal from contract policing.
You can’t do 10 or 15 things REALLY well – maybe 1 or 2. They shouldn’t have a National Youth Strategy, a National Drug Strategy, etc – there are other government agencies who do that and do it very well – the force can partner those types of initiatives – but shouldn’t be spearheading them. And the heritage section, the musical ride etc- get rid of them. They use an awful lot of bureacracy and manpower – get those members and the dollars attached to them back on the street.
The RCMP needs to focus on policing – not being social workers.
Change is exciting – embrace it
“Your either in or you’re in the way.”
Reading this account of the governments backing of Mr. Elliot comes as no surprise. The force has been in turmoil for the past 20 years. The force needs a shake up and maybe this is the beginning of the next phase in the forces history, the problem seems to be that the force forgot the K.I.S.S. system of policing. “Keep It Simple Stupid”.
Whether you agree with me or not, the forces problems seem to coincide with the new promotional system the force went to @ twenty years ago. Promoting members on what they thought of themselves over promoting members on merit. Members promoted because they could write a test and how well they could articulate themselves on paper over good old hard work.
The force used to teach “Members” how to think on their own in times of adversity but they also taught them what team work was all about.
The “cadets” coming out of Regina now, are taught early that to get ahead it’s all about “I”, what “I” can do to get ahead. They’ve forgotten there’s no “I” in “Team Work”.
These same officers in Ottawa, are cast offs of the new system. They all got promoted by way of the new promotional “I” system. Their problem is that they all want to be the boss and it’s still all about “I” and how can “I” get ahead. And don’t seem to be able to work as a team.
Ok so they got yelled at by the boss, maybe they deserved it, if they are still of the mind set of “I” am the best for the job. Do you really believe that these same officers got to where they are and never screamed at subordinates under there command and always treated members under them with respect.
Yelling used to be taught in depot “drill hall 101”. Anyone who went through the doors of the drill hall got that every day for six months 30 years ago, without that kind of training; you get the actions of the yvr4, act first and pay later. The old style of training made you a better cop on the street to help you deal with problems.
I’m forgetting and being facieses here, these Officers in Ottawa have probably spent much of their time in our nations capital, and not much time on the street, they have forget that every cop working on the street puts up with this kind of treatment day after day, every day he puts on his uniform. Not only from, the people on the street, he has to dealt with, but from his bosses and more lately from the Media. Quoting one line in the above mentioned article, “We want to get rid of the folks who shouldn’t be in the RCMP, and there are folks out there who shouldn’t be in the RCMP,” said a high-ranking Mountie. This could be true for all the boys and girls in Ottawa too.
It’s time to suck it up and get the job done before you completely ruin the Force.
Put your seatbelts on ~ I think we’re in for a bumpy ride!