Only Two Thirds (62%) Have `Confidence' in
RCMP Top Brass

Toronto, ON - A new Ipsos Reid/CanWest Global poll finds that only two thirds of Canadians (62%) have `confidence in the highest levels of those managing the RCMP to provide ethical and effective leadership to its police force'. With the increased media attention paid to the RCMP management in recent months, only a small number of Canadians (15%) claim to have `a great deal of confidence' in the upper management of the RCMP. Similarly, only a slight majority (57%) say that leaders are doing a `great or good job'.

Despite the lack of confidence in the top echelons of power, eight in ten Canadians (80%) say that the officers who are in Canada's communities every day are doing a `good job'. Three in ten (27%) rate the front-line performance of the RCMP officers as `great'.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/CanWest Global poll conducted from April 17 to April 19, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1001 adults was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

Only Two Thirds (62%) Have Confidence in RCMP Top Brass...

In light of increased media coverage of the senior levels of the RCMP, only two thirds of (62%) Canadians have `confidence in the highest levels of those managing the RCMP to provide ethical and effective leadership to its police force'. One third (33%) express `little or no confidence at all'. A quarter of Canadians (24%) say that they have `a little bit of confidence' in the RCMP management, while close to one in ten (9%) claim to have `no confidence at all' in the top brass.

• Albertans have the highest levels of confidence (70%) in the leadership of the RCMP. Quebecers are least likely (57%) to express confidence in the RCMP management.
• Four in Ten residents of British Columbia (39%) have low levels of confidence, compared to the national average (33%).
• Women are more likely (69%) than men (56%) to `have confidence' in the RCMP leadership's ability to provide ethical and effective leadership.

Even Fewer (57%) Say Leadership Doing `Good Job'...

Relating to the management and accountability of the force overall, even fewer (57%) say that the RCMP leadership is doing a `good job'. Over one third of Canadians (37%) would rate their performance as `fair' or `terrible'.

• British Columbians are most critical of the leadership's ability to manage the force, with nearly three in ten (27%) rating leaders performance as `fair', and a significant portion (14%) saying that the leadership is doing a `terrible job'. Albertans are the most likely (62%) to give a rating of `good', compared to the national average (57%).
• Men are more likely (13%) to rate management's performance as `terrible', while a slim majority (51%) of men say that leadership is doing a `great or good job'. A larger proportion of women (63%), on the other hand, rate the performance of the top brass as `great or good'.

Despite Lack of Confidence in Top Brass, Most Canadians (80%) Say Regular Officers Doing `Good Job'...

Eight in ten Canadians (80%) say that when it comes to regular officers who do their job in Canada's communities every day, `overall these individual officers are doing a great or good job'. In fact, nearly three in ten Canadians (27%) would rate their performance as `great', while a majority (53%) would give a rating of `good'. A negligible (2%) number of Canadians rated the performance of frontline officers as `terrible'.

• Saskatchewan has the highest proportion of residents (39%) that think these officers are doing a `great job'. Interestingly, they also have the highest proportion of residents (25%) that think that the frontline officers are doing a `fair or terrible job'.
• Albertans gave the highest overall appraisal, with most (84%) saying that these officers are doing either a `great or good job'. This could be attributed to the death of four officers during a raid on an Albertan farm in 2005.
• Most women (85%) feel that these officers are doing a `great or good job', while three quarters (75%) of men believe the same.

Seniors Most Critical of RCMP Leadership, Most Praising of Frontline Officers...

A slight majority of seniors (55%) say that the RCMP leadership is doing a `great or good job', which is slightly less than the national average (57%). In a similar vein, a small majority of seniors (56%) have `confidence in the highest levels of those managing the RCMP to provide ethical and effective leadership to its police force'. However, seniors are the most likely of all age groups (84%) to claim that the frontline officers are doing a `great or good job'.

• Young adults, aged 18-34, are the most likely (71%) to have `confidence' in the leadership of the RCMP, running quite far ahead of the national average (62%). But when it comes to their assessment of frontline officers, young adults are not as positive in their appraisal, with three quarters (77%) giving a `great or good' rating, compared to the national average (80%).

For more information on this press release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
[email protected] For full tabular results, please visit our website www.ipsos.ca. News Releases are available at: http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/.


About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

Ipsos
Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2006, Ipsos generated global revenues of 857.1 million euros ($1.1 billion USD).

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos offerings and capabilities.

Ipsos, listed on the Eurolist of Euronext ЎV Comp B, is part of SBF 120 and the Mid-100 Index, adheres to the Next Prime segment and is eligible to the Deferred Settlement System. Isin FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP