The National Police Federation conducted a survey in October 2017 to explore and gauge the impact of ongoing funding and resource cuts to member and community safety. The survey found:
• 87 per cent of respondents do not feel they have the resources they need to do their job fully and safely
• 95 per cent believe the current lack of resources puts members in danger
• 93 per cent believe the current lack of resources puts communities in danger
• 60 per cent had experienced a dangerous situation because of lack of resources in the last two years alone
This is wrong, risky and it can’t continue. Government must step up and restore both funding and public safety. NPF will share these results, and a call for action, with government and management and will make this a priority upon certification.
The survey, conducted online between October 17 and 26, with 3,399 responses is the first known survey measuring the impact of ongoing funding cuts to member and community safety.
“We’ve seen an increase in crime that hurts communities and contributes to member injuries and even deaths that we believe are related to budget freezes and cuts. This survey is the first quantitative evidence of how these shortages impact our members’ ability to perform their duties and protect Canadians,” said Brian Sauvé, co-chair of the National Police Federation.
RCMP officers are trained not to share information outside our ranks, not to complain and to go above and beyond expectations. Increasingly, they’re told to “risk it out” and take chances. This survey provided a unique opportunity for members to share their concerns and stories candidly, to help drive improvements,” said Sauvé.
“These chronically dangerous situations are not only a threat to people in communities across the country, but they also take a toll on our members who compensate for these resource gaps and too-often end up with physically or psychologically injured,” said Eddie MacDonald, co-chair of the National Police Federation.
“Past and ongoing resource, equipment and training cuts are threatening our members’ and community safety and must be reversed. Our front-line members need more resources to be safe and fully effective. On behalf of our 10,000-plus members, we call on management and government to review this report and restore necessary funding,” said Peter Merrifield, co-chair of the National Police Federation.
The survey asked members who had experienced dangerous work situations in the last two years to provide more information: 85% cited people shortages. The most common theme was lack of availability of back-up personnel for high-risk calls and situations:
• Many reported going out alone to calls of domestic violence, or large parties and gatherings that were out of control, fearing that civilians would be harmed if they waited for a colleague to be available.
• Members frequently indicated that their nearest back-up is often asleep (off shift) or more than an hour away. Members shared stories of holding off someone at gunpoint, or manually for sustained periods of time until help arrived.
• Many respondents said they’d been told by management to “risk it out,” leaving them to decide if they should respond to a call, risk their own well-being to potentially help a citizen, or if they should wait for help to arrive and risk harm to a citizen in the meantime.
• Such decisions run directly counter to members’ sworn commitment to protect their communities and some cited this as the cause of mental health issues, impact quality of life and/or PTSD.
• Ongoing staff shortages further impede performance and safety because of ongoing exhaustion from overtime, lack of sleep or time off.
• Poor radio equipment, which often leaves members out of contact with their backup or senior officers in dangerous situations; inadequate and unavailable protective gear; shortage of appropriate firearms and related training, and unsafe, poorly maintained vehicles were also frequently cited.
The survey report, also covered filling of vacancies, minimum members per shift, and impacts on time-off and leave. All results point to dangerous shortages and little progress in addressing or resolving these issues.
About the National Police Federation:
The National Police Federation was founded by RCMP members in the spring of 2016 to offer RCMP members a purposeful and professional option for labour relations representation. Over 10,000 RCMP members have joined the National Police Federation (NPF) since March 2016, allowing the first application for certification of a national bargaining agent for rank and file members of the RCMP. The National Police Federation now represents over 60 per cent of members. NPF’s three co-Chairs have over 30 years of combined police labour relations experience. Its board of directors is comprised of men and women who have served the RCMP between 10 and 35 years in virtually every province and territory in Canada. The NPF also has an independent Advisory Group to the Board comprised of leading legal, policing labour relations governance and administration, psychology and related traumatic stress conditions and other critical areas of expertise. Once certified, the NPF has committed to continue to engage members in key representation decisions, as outlined in the organization’s bylaws.
