Canadians Losing Confidence in RCMP:
Fewer Believe Brass (46%, Down 15 Points), Rank and File (69%, Down 13 Points) Doing a Good Job Compared to 2007
A minority (46%) believe that, when it comes to senior leadership at the highest levels of the RCMP in its management and accountability of the force, senior leadership is doing a `good' (37%) or `great' (9%) job. A majority (54%), however, believe RCMP senior leadership is doing either a `fair' (38%) or `terrible' (16%) job. Support for the top brass is down substantially from 2007, when six in ten (61%) of decided Canadians believed the senior leadership of the RCMP was doing a `great' (12%) or `good' (49%) job.
While a majority of Canadians believe the senior leadership of the RCMP could be doing a better job, most believe that regular officers are doing just fine, although not as well as 5 years ago. Seven in ten (69%) Canadians believe that regular officers who do their job in Canada's communities every day are doing a `good' (49%) or `great' job (20%), compared to three in ten (31%) who believe they're doing a `fair' (26%) or `terrible' (6%) job. This level of satisfaction for regular RCMP officers in 2012 (69%) is also significantly down from the results given by decided Canadians when asked in 2007 (82%).
Fairness, Equality and the RCMP...
When it comes to fairness and equality in how the RCMP deals with the public, three-quarters (74%) of Canadians `agree' (19% strongly/54% somewhat) that `they have confidence that the RCMP is a professional police force that treats the public fairly and equitably', although one in four (26%) `disagree' (6% strongly/20% somewhat).
Canadians are less confident, however, that the same fairness and equality is exerted within the force itself. Only six in ten (63%) `agree' (13% strongly/50% somewhat) that `they have confidence that the RCMP treats its own employees fairly and equitably', compared to four in ten (37%) who `disagree' (9% strongly/28% somewhat) that the RCMP treats its employees in this way. This lower level of confidence of equality within the force is likely a function of numerous allegations that have come to light in the news media of the seemingly systemic harassment of female officers within the force.
When it comes to curtailing the harassment of female officers, Canadians are tentative in their belief that the senior leadership of the RCMP can put at stop to such behaviour. Just six in ten (63%) `agree' (20% strongly/43% somewhat) that `they have confidence that the senior leadership of the RCMP can stop the harassment of female officers within its ranks', and four in ten (37%) `disagree' that RCMP senior leadership can put a stop to such harassment.
Views Where the RCMP Operates as the Provincial Force...
While both Quebec and Ontario have their own provincial police forces, in addition to being the national and federal police force, the RCMP are active in communities in most areas of Canada's other 8 provinces and 3 territories. The below analysis focuses on those provinces where the RCMP is active as the provincial police force:
- Residents of Manitoba and Saskatchewan (61%) are most likely to believe that the RCMP senior leadership is doing a `good' or `great' job, followed by Albertans (48%), Atlantic Canadians (43%), and British Columbians (33%). By comparison, two-thirds of British Columbians (67%) - the largest province patrolled by the RCMP - believe that the RCMP senior leadership is doing a `fair' or `terrible' job, ahead of Atlantic Canadians (57%), Albertans (52%), and residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (39%).
- Saskatchewan and Manitoba residents (78%) and Albertans (75%) are most likely to believe that regular RCMP officers are doing a `good' or `great' job, ahead of Atlantic Canadians (68%), and British Columbians (58%). Conversely, British Columbians (42%) are most apt to say that regular RCMP officers are doing a `fair' or `terrible' job, followed by Atlantic Canadians (32%), Albertans (25%), and residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (22%).
- Those from Saskatchewan and Manitoba (79%) are most likely to `agree' that the RCMP treats the public fairly and equitably, slightly ahead of Quebecers (78%), Ontarians (77%), Albertans (72%), Atlantic Canadians (69%). The RCMP continues to poll well behind in British Columbia where only 54% agree that they have confidence that the RCMP is a professional force that treats the public fairly and equitably.
- Atlantic Canadians (63%) are most likely to believe that the RCMP will be able to stop the harassment of its female officers, followed by residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (58%), and British Columbians (45%). British Columbians (55%) most `disagree' that RCMP senior leadership can curtail harassment of its female officers, followed by those from Saskatchewan and Manitoba (42%), Albertans (38%), and Atlantic Canadians (37%).
- Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (68%) most `agree' that they have confidence the RCMP treats its employees fairly and equitably, followed by Atlantic Canadians (64%), Albertans (63%), and British Columbians (39%). British Columbians (61%) are most likely to `disagree' that they have confidence the RCMP treats its employees fairly and equitably, ahead of Albertans (37%), Atlantic Canadians (36%), and residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (32%).
The RCMP in Ontario and Quebec...
While they don't provide constabulary services at a provincial level in Ontario and Quebec, as Canada's national police force and a symbol of Canada, the RCMP remains a visible national institution in Canada's two most-populous provinces. Below outlines public opinion of the force in Ontario and Quebec:
- Half (50%) of Ontarians believe the leadership at the highest levels of the RCMP is doing a good job, more than the 44% of Quebecers who think the same. This makes RCMP more likely than the national average (+4 pts.) to think so, while Quebecers are less likely (-2 pts.).
- Ontarians (75%) are significantly more likely than Quebecers (59%) to think that the regular officers who patrol in Canada's communities are doing a good job. Ontarians are more likely (+6 pts.) than the national average to say so, while Quebecers are much less likely (-10 pts.) to think so.
- Quebecers (78%) and Ontarians (77%) are equally as likely to agree that the RCMP is a professional police force that treats the public fairly and equitably. Both Ontarians (+3 points) and Quebecers (+4 points) are more likely than the national average to believe this is the case.
- Quebecers (74%) are more much more likely than Ontarians (63%) to say they have confidence that the RCMP treats its own employees fairly and equitably. Ontarians are in line with the national average, but Quebecers are more likely (+11) than the average Canadian to think so.
- Quebecers (74%) are more confident than Ontarians (63%) that the senior leadership of the RCMP can stop the harassment of female officers within its ranks.
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between December 7th to 12th, 2012, on behalf of Postmedia News and Global Television. For this survey, a sample of 1,021 Canadians from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case the poll is accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points of the entire Canadian adult population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
416.324.2002
[email protected]
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