RCMP Policing Review

The mission statement of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada's national police service, is "to preserve the peace, uphold the law and provide quality service in partnership with our communities". At present, there does not seem to be an effective partnership between the RCMP and the northern communities it serves. Rather, based on dialogue sessions with the public and submissions to the Review of Yukon's Police Force, 2010, (Review) there seems to be a divide between the RCMP and women‟s organizations, aboriginal peoples, and other communities of interest living in the Yukon.

1 References

The RCMP stands at a crossroad. Several independent, external, and internal reviews of the organization have been conducted in recent years to investigate wrongdoing in the administration of pension plans, the RCMP internal discipline system, and possibilities for governance and cultural change. In response to recommendations made in these reports and under intense national scrutiny and public pressure, the RCMP has issued a transformation plan in support of a change process. These studies, federal, aboriginal, provincial and territorial governments, and the RCMP itself have stated that Canada‟s national police force needs to be more accountable to the public. The Government of Canada has introduced legislation to amend the RCMP Act. At this juncture, RCMP senior leadership could model a cooperative approach in working with communities to preserve the peace and uphold the law in the delivery of police service. Or "the Force" could close ranks, deny the validity of public concerns, and present a collective defensiveness to criticism.

The governance model of the RCMP, entrenched in the RCMP Act and grounded in its history and culture, is paramilitary - it relies on a chain of command and orders that must be followed. Members are required, by the RCMP Act Regulations, to obey every lawful order, oral or written, of any member who is superior in rank or who has authority over that member.

You can view the whole report here

RCMP review

Here is a link to the justice website in Yukon

http://www.justice.gov.yk.ca/