Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
National

RCMP 911 operators' union wants recruitment plan

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 11 Apr, 2023 12:46 PM
  • RCMP 911 operators' union wants recruitment plan

OTTAWA - The union that represents the RCMP's emergency dispatchers and operators is calling on the force to come up with a recruitment plan to fix worsening staff shortages.

CUPE Local 104 president Kathleen Hippern said hundreds of people are off on long-term sick leave, and she knows of many more who are looking for an exit.

"We're so understaffed," she said in an interview Tuesday, adding that many of the union's members are women.

When someone dials 911 and asks for police, Hippern said members take the call and gather the information officers need to know before heading to a scene.

"Police are not moving until one of us answers that call."

Hippern said that few centres are fully staffed, specifying that in Nova Scotia, staffing is only at about 50 per cent.In some cases, she said, regular uniformed members of the RCMP have been brought in to help.

"They're that desperate."

She said morale is "abysmal" and she believes the lack of staff is affecting public safety by leaving callers sometimes waiting for minutes before someone is able to answer.

"I'm terrified for any of my family members that have to call 911."

The national force has yet to respond to a request for comment.

The RCMP has been struggling to fill its vacancies for years, with more-recent hiring and training efforts also hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The force has said it hopes to boost the amount of diversity in its ranks by hiring more women, visible minorities and Indigenous people.

The president of the National Police Federation, which represents RCMP officers, recently said part of the problem stems from the fact that people are applying to join the force at a slightly older age, and members are retiring earlier.

As the force prepares to mark its 150th anniversary next month, Hippern said Tuesday that it needs a strong recruitment strategy.

Internal documents show the RCMP is hoping the anniversary will lead to a boost in applications over the next two years, The Canadian Press recently reported.

But Hippern said she knows of many people who feel that the RCMP's plan to advertise and celebrate itself as a good workplace amounts to "hypocrisy," arguing the force has failed to address the needs of many of its staff.

The union is also currently in bargaining with the force.

It contends that compensation levels for operators and dispatchers have not budged from 2016, and they fall short of what employees at municipal police services make.

MORE National ARTICLES

New Westminster Police officers appeal for witnesses to come forward following stabbing

New Westminster Police officers appeal for witnesses to come forward following stabbing
Officers searched the area but were unable to locate any suspects. Officers have been actively interviewing witnesses and canvassing the area for CCTV footage. Due to the serious nature of the injuries the Major Crime Unit has assumed conduct of the investigation. At this time, officers believe this to be an isolated incident.

New Westminster Police officers appeal for witnesses to come forward following stabbing

Turban ripped, Sikh student dragged by hair in Canada: Report

Turban ripped, Sikh student dragged by hair in Canada: Report
Gagandeep Singh, 21, was swarmed and beaten near Highway 97 and McCurdy Road in Kelowna after he got off a transit bus on March 17, CTV News reported. Gagandeep was heading home after grocery shopping when he encountered a group of young boys, between 12 and 15 years-old on the bus.

Turban ripped, Sikh student dragged by hair in Canada: Report

One-click citizenship oath temporary: Fraser

One-click citizenship oath temporary: Fraser
The immigration minister anticipates the one-click option would only be in effect as long as the government is swamped with backlogged citizenship applications. But the Conservative party's immigration critic worries it would "cheapen" an otherwise special moment for newcomers.

One-click citizenship oath temporary: Fraser

Man who stormed PM residence loses sentence appeal

Man who stormed PM residence loses sentence appeal
A decision dated Thursday says the six-year sentence handed to Corey Hurren in March 2021, less a year for the time he spent in custody before his sentencing, was "entirely fit." Hurren, a sausage-maker who served with the military's Canadian Rangers, had pleaded guilty to seven weapons charges and one mischief charge for his actions on the morning of July 2, 2020.

Man who stormed PM residence loses sentence appeal

New trial for B.C. man convicted of sexual assault

New trial for B.C. man convicted of sexual assault
Allen Brooks was convicted by a provincial court judge in 2020 for sexual assaults that allegedly happened in 1990 and 1997 while he was working as an X-ray technician at a hospital in Maple Ridge. Brooks was acquitted of a third count of sexual assault that was alleged to have occurred in 2001.

New trial for B.C. man convicted of sexual assault

B.C. man arrested with needle attached to arrow

B.C. man arrested with needle attached to arrow
Mounties say they were called to the parking lot of the Port Place Mall in the Vancouver Island city on Monday after the man was reportedly threatening people with a stick and the toy bow and arrow.

B.C. man arrested with needle attached to arrow