RCMP Commissioner Asks Officers To Keep Complaints In The Family

In an interview with Evan Solomon on CBC Radio’s The House, RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson said he has concerns about officers in the police force and “this propensity to go public on every sort of beef that happens in the workplace.”

Paulson was reacting to a story about the head of the Prime Minister’s security detail acting like a bully, accused by other officers of intimidation and harassment. He said that these stories may erode the public trust in the RCMP, which in turn would make their job more difficult.

Unfortunately for Paulson, most of the complaints being aired publicly recently are coming from former officers who claim to have been sexually and verbally harassed while working as Mounties. Catherine Galliford was the first to come forward with allegations, saying she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by her work environment. Now there are rumors of up to 150 female officers ready to join a lawsuit against the RCMP for not acting on their complaints.

Since the allegations were first made public, the federal government has given the commissioner more power to discipline or fire so-called ‘rotten apples‘ from the force, and Paulson has dedicated himself to a ‘cultural change.’ In the past there has been evidence that female Mounties seem to face harsher punishment than their male counterparts, even when the man acting inappropriately is her superior. One Mountie, found guilty by the police force itself of sexual misconduct with female officers, and responsible for what Paulson called outrageous behavior, was transferred rather than fired.

Why is Paulson surprised that such an environment leads Mounties to take their complaints public?

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Photo Credit: Brian Chow

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Lynn S.

11:53PM PDT on Jun 26, 2012

The RCMP has been in the past, and I believe still is, a 'good old boys club'. That has to change --- it is past time! There has been bit of a shake up which brought Paulson to the front, but still . . .

As a manager, I encouraged anyone with a problem to come to me. If they had a problem with me, then I said, go to my supervisor. But when you feel that you can't take things through normal channels, or you have already tried and it appears like no one is listening, there is only one thing to do --- carefully go public. But do be prepared for some 'nasty' talk.

This is one reason why whistle blower legislation is needed.

June 26
send a green star

Hope F.

8:55PM PDT on Jun 26, 2012

My boyfriend and I had our first argument over a disagreement I had with a friend of his re: the existence of rape culture. Whilst my boyfriend agreed with my sentiments, he was uncomfortable with how heated I'd become over the issue. When I explained to him my motivation - that in almost every aspect of society, women are faced with struggles to acheive/recieve what men take for granted - and gave him a list of examples, he understood. I think it's important to draw attention to issues like this, because alot of the time, good men (and women) don't really believe that this status quo exists, because they don't experience it themselves. Gotta keep a light shining on...

Mari G.

7:43PM PDT on Jun 26, 2012

It saddens me that women are screwed everywhere they go.

Sue M.

5:25PM PDT on Jun 26, 2012

thanks