RCMP internal polling shows declining trust, confidence in national police force
Global News
A tracking poll commissioned by the Mounties found Canadians’ satisfaction with the force has declined in the year since the Portapique mass killing.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is facing declining trust in the force’s performance and questions about the organization’s integrity.
That’s according to internal polling reviewed by Global News that suggests the Mounties face an increasingly skeptical public concerned not only with their job performance but with the national police force’s honesty, integrity and transparency.
“Overall, attitudes towards the RCMP are generally positive but have worsened over the past year. The majority of Canadians are satisfied with the RCMP’s contribution to public safety, but satisfaction has declined since 2020-21,” the Ekos Research polling, delivered to the RCMP in April, suggested.
“The RCMP scores reasonably well in terms of upholding many of its core principles, however, perceptions in this area have also deteriorated over the past year.”
The report noted that, between April 2021 and April 2022, there was a six-point drop in the sentiment that the RCMP acts with integrity, and a five-percentage point drop in the number of Canadians who believe the Mounties are honest.
The polling doesn’t offer any explanation for Canadians’ declining opinion of the national police force and noted that despite those declines, the public still places a “great deal of importance on the RCMP’s contribution to public safety.”
“I think there’s a lot of residual loyalty to the RCMP (among Canadians). They’re a national symbol and Canadians rightly rally to them when there’s tragedies like Mayerthorpe and Moncton,” said Kent Roach, a University of Toronto law professor and an influential voice on Canadian policing and security issues, said in an interview with Global News.
“But unless we know that the RCMP recognizes it’s in trouble, and has a vision about how to get out of trouble, then I’m afraid that we’re just going to see this slow erosion. Which is, in many ways, quite sad.”
