Report: RCMP’s Effectiveness Damaged by Politicization?

[The Bread Guy]

(DISCLOSURE:  No cop experience, but some (part-time, infantry) military experience here.)

Just found this online, and thought you might be interested....

RCMP’s Effectiveness Damaged by Politicization, According to New Study (Fraser Institute, 12 Apr 06)
http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/shared/readmore.asp?sNav=nr&id=721

Part of Executive Summary:

"The Royal Canadian Mounted Police advertises itself as Canada’s national police service, an organization of excellence, and a world leader in integrated policing. By and large, general surveys of public opinion indicate that the RCMP is widely respected by Canadians. In contrast, there have been several studies, as well as occasional public complaints, showing that the RCMP is in crisis and is drastically underfunded. Accounts vary as to the nature of that crisis, the extent to which the organization is underfunded, and the reason that it is underfunded. Among the most serious reasons advanced for the current problems in the Force is that it has become politicized in the sense that it responds directly to political instructions ... Whatever the impact of underfunding, it seems clear that politicization is a greater problem (...) because it has meant a decline in the core competencies of the Force, namely the enforcement of federal laws ... One way or another (...) it is our contention that de-politicization is the key to halting the decline of the RCMP."

 

[Centurian1985]

This is not a new problem for the RCMP, nor are they the only department suffering from funding conflicts.  I can tell you though, having worked in many countries overseas in many parts of the world, that I believe the RCMP as a department is one of the most competent, law-abiding, and effective law enforcement agencies in the world; their only competition IMO is from the US, UK, Germany, and Israel.  (Maybe the Aussies too but I never worked with them so cant say for sure...)

 

[The Bread Guy]

I guess, on the one hand, it's like any other federal gov't department in that there's a touch of tension (varying from dep't to dep't, but rarely zero) between the buraucracy and the political side.  The other side of that coin, though, is that the rule of law and equality before the law SHOULD be cast-in-stone values no matter what colour the letterhead of the politicians in power at any given point.