[Wamvan] CBC's The Current on rape culture w/in the RCMP

[Sandra Cuffe]

link & transcription below. ~ sandra

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/05/25/what-does-it-take-to-get-fired-at-the-rcmp/

What does it take to get fired at the RCMP? - Former RCMP Officer

We started this segment with a clip from RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson
testifying before the Standing Committee on the Status of Women in
Ottawa last month. He was responding to reports of widespread
discrimination and harassment against female officers.

The Mounties certainly know disgraceful conduct when they see it.
That's what they called the behaviour of Staff Sgt. Don Ray, while he
was in charge of the polygraph unit at RCMP headquarters in Edmonton.
According to an internal investigation that just surfaced, Ray kept an
office fridge stocked with rum and beer and encouraged female
subordinates to drink. And not only did he make sexual advances at
work, but as long ago as 2006, he booked a polygraph suite for
lunchtime sex with a co-worker. His advances weren't always subtle or
successful. One Mountie remembers the night he unzipped his pants and
exposed himself to her -- despite her lack of interest.

Ray admitted to the allegations of sexual misconduct. And the
investigation into his behaviour concluded it will take: considerable
effort to rebuild the damaged trust of our organization. But as per
the RCMP Adjudication Board's ruling in January, Ray is still entitled
to wear the red serge coat. The board said it considered - but
ultimately decided against - dismissal, swayed by his apology and
colleagues' letters of recommendation. Ray was instead docked ten days
pay, demoted one rank to sergeant, and transferred to a post in
British Columbia.

Krista Carle finds the decision maddening -- but not surprising. She
was as an RCMP officer for two decades and says she was harassed much
of that time.
Krista Carle joined us from Victoria.

What does it take to get fired at the RCMP? - Mounted Police
Professional Association

Bob Paulson became RCMP Commissioner of last year, as the adjudication
board was considering Sgt. Ray's case. It's unclear whether he had a
chance to weigh in on the case at the time.

Paulson declined to join us today. But yesterday, he told a reporter:
If I could change this case I would, I cannot. What I can do is make
sure that we get a system where this sort of frustration is
eliminated.

Paulson has said one of his top priorities is to put an end to sexual
harassment on the force. And to that end, he's supporting an
independent investigation into Workplace Harassment by the Commission
for Public Complaints Against the RCMP. Ian McPhail is chair of that
Commission. We aired a clip.

That external investigation into RCMP Workplace Harassment is ongoing
and scheduled to wrap up by the end of the year. The RCMP itself
turned down our request for an interview today.

But our next guest has good insight into how the force works. Rob
Creasser was a Mountie for 28 years. A former constable, he is now a
spokesperson for the Mounted Police Professional Association of
Canada, a group of frontline officers fighting for the right to
collective bargaining. He was in Calgary.

This segment was produced by The Current's Kathleen Goldhar, Kristin
Nelson and Julia Pagel.