Posted on the RCMP Veteran’s Association – Vancouver Division Web Site on October 17, 2012
Over the past few months, we have received many email messages about the focus of negativity being generated and promoted within the province of British Columbia against the RCMP.
As was pointed out by many RCMP Veterans, the RCMP Watch website focuses negative stories about the Force and includes negative comments made by visitors to this website.
Based on questions raised, we decided to look into this website and to provide you an overview.
OVERVIEW
This review discovered that:
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- this website was first registered on August 1, 2004;.
- this website’s host is 1&1 and is based in Wayne Pennsylvania. The host’s website address is – www.sexualfreakshow.com;
- the webmaster resides in Penticton, British Columbia and regularly contributes articles to the local community newspaper;
- website claims to have “3,000 stories posted since 2006 and over 1,000,000 page views since October 2012;” and
- website also claims “1 contributor (website master) has posted 3,058 posts (articles) and received 4,004 comments.“
The About Page for the RCMP Watch website states:
The RCMP, the federal police force of Canada, is the only major Canadian police force without a truly effective and independent oversight body.
RCMP members hold the extraordinary legal authority to limit civil liberties and so must to be scrutinized to the same or a higher standard used to investigate those they suspect of criminal wrongdoing. When they are found at fault, they too must be held accountable.
On RCMPWatch.com you will find stories that have been curated from public information sources. We provide a forum for open discussion and welcome constructive viewpoints and contributions.
Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that everyone has the fundamental freedoms of thought, belief, opinion and expression. We are strong believers in our constitutional guarantee to freedom of expression. There are, however, no constitutional provisions obliging us to publish your comments.
Comments must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind or other content or materials that in the moderators judgment may be found objectionable by users of this site.
From time to time the moderators delete posts and/or ban persons without warning or explanation and will continue to do so. Posts are generally removed when offensive, abusive or do not contribute to the discussion. Persons are generally banned for making threats against other persons (including the moderators of this site for moderating their posts).
To promote openness, contact details (e.g. email address, IP addresses, etc.) will not be divulged to any third party unless we are required to do so by law (search warrant or other legal instrument).
This site not a forum to post personal complaints or correspondence to the RCMP or any other agency.
RCMPWatch.com is not affiliated with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or any other government agency.
Updated 16 Sept 2012
The mode of operation for this website is that their webmaster:
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- locates negative stories about the RCMP and copies the entire newspaper article on the RCMP Watch website as a post. NOTE: This would explain why the total number of pages is so high.
- website provides the feature for visitors to the site to post their comments associated to a particular news article;
- webmaster controls what comments which are posted on the website. As such, the webmaster controls both the negative and positive comments which are viewed by visitors to the website. NOTE: Our brief review of the comments found little or no positive comments about the Force; and
- webmaster also has a Facebook and Twitter accounts which he draws in comments which are in turn posted on the RCMP Watch website.
Findings
Based on our brief examination, we discovered the primary contributor to the website forum is a “JohnnyG” and in all likelihood the webmaster for this website.
In examining the comments from individuals contributing comments to the various articles, it appears that the majority of the contributors are currently serving or retired members of the Force.
One of the few independent assessments of the RCMP Watch website is found at –http://thestatusofthestatusquo.blogspot.ca/2010/01/is-rcmp-watch-rcmp-front.html which states the RCMP Watch website appears “to be a BOGUS SITE, designed by the RCMP to look credible, but which really exists to intercept complaints about the RCMP and then ‘disappear’ them.”
Suggestion
You may wish to visit this website and monitor some of the comments being submitted.
[Source]
I can unequivocally assure you that I am not connected to this site in any capacity other than the occasional posting and perusal. I will not provide you with the details of the persons involved with the site because the post would never make it out for your approbation.
So sad to see that these kinds of injustices are still happening.
To think we are funding such behavior with our tax dollars is criminal.
JohnnyG the web master here, don’t believe it but I would suspect that one called deeptroat is probably the one behind all of this site.
Seems if something is posted here he doesn’t like it doesn’t make on as a comment.
I repeat myself, so sad the force will not change for the better in the face of all these reports.
I for one do not believe it can go back to the way it was in the force and since it’s unwilling to change I guess the only solution is to replace them with good police officers instead of pushing them out.
Nah, I don’t think Deepthroat is the webmaster either. I once heard him a long time ago bewilder where his missing post went. Also, I don’t think he is critical enough of the force, to have the motivation to put this website up and run it all these years.
I don’t normally post on this site. I am a 35 year member, still serving. I was forced to lay a lawsuit against the RCMP when they would not deal with my harassment complaint. Fortuneately I was able to settle my lawsuit to my satisfaction. I am presently ODS and set to retire soon. I spend my days assisting members deal with the Force and Veteran’s Affairs Canada. I have helped many of our members who have developed Operational Stress Injuries. Many of these members have reported that thyey have been assaulted, sexually assaulted, raped, harassed, bullied and abused
by co-works and supervisors during their service. These stories are heartbreaking with the Force doing everything that they can to dismiss the allegations when they are brought forward. Although I remain a proud member of the Force, this isn’t the organization that I wish to belong to any longer.
Gerry, that is a really great thing you are doing to help others, and that is no doubt why you joined the profession in the first place. Sadly, too many in the force aren’t cut from the same cloth you are.
Guys like you and others like you are not just a credit to the outfit, but to the human race.
The Veteran’s Association – Vancouver Division should spend their time and energy supporting the individual citizens and RCMP members who have been wronged; rather than trying to find out who is exposing the wrongs.
Sites such as RCMP Watch would not be in existence if the RCMP would do more than pay lip service to their core values and actually hold individuals accountable.
This is Hilarious! “Here come the men in white”!!!
For our regulars in here I am not the webmaster and I’m not the guy who screens your posts. If I were, I wouldn’t be omitting the entire post or argument- just the questionable words or sentences.
Also there have been plenty of positive things said in here, I know because I have argued against some of them….
The host is Sexualfreak show eh? Are you thinking what I am thinking? Are they trying to blame this on Cpl. Jim Brown?