RCMP’s 911 dispatcher deficiency is putting mounts and public at risk: Audit
The recently released RCMP audit states that its 911 remittance centers across the country are struggling with severe employees and burnouts, putting front-line mounts and public at risk.
Described as a lifeline for officers in the area, RCMP 17 is responsible for operating communication centers, where the dispatter fields call in almost every province and all three areas. They also help with national security files. Dispators often have the first point of contact to the public in emergency situations and provide significant support for officers responding to those calls.
But new findings suggest that the remittance centers – known as operating communication centers or OCC – are in a state of emergency.
“Staff deficiency limits the effectiveness of OCC and can potentially (authorities) and the safety of the public,” notes Audit,
Completed in February and published last week, it was stated that the number of hard vacancies in all centers has doubled since 2017, while the number of soft vacancies (employees on leave) has increased by 31 percent since 2019.
The report said that “severe staffing shortage” is contributing to burnouts and employees taking leave. The condition is described as a “serious threat” for operation.
“Managers feel that OCCs are providing a good service to the public and receiving relatively few complaints, but there is an understanding among the managers that the level of service is deteriorating, or at risk due to lack of staff and staff,” it said.
As part of their review, RCMP auditors interviewed dozens of workers, visited facilities and combing through performance reports.
“Program data indicates that the public has suffered service, and service matrix, such as waiting time and abandoned calls, and a direct connection between the staffing level and call volume,” found in the report.
The report states that there is a decrease in staffing, call volume remains the same, or most centers have increased. Auditors strongly heard that those calls were rapidly violent and upset.
“Things are quite important and in fact it is very serious,” Cathleen Hipper, president of CUPE 104, said, the union representing RCMP dispatcators.
She says that it was before the tragedy strike.
“You are going to receive a major event, perhaps soon where we are not properly employed,” Hipperan said, a dispatch supervisor.
“It can be a matter of terrorism, it can be a natural disaster, it can be like a large number of casualties in Nova Scotia. … We do not have enough people for a regular working day, leaving major events alone.”
BESPOKE requires mental health assistance: audit
The audit also found that mental health resources are inconsistent and inadequate for hundreds of workers who fielded those calls.
The internal audit said, “There is an understanding that operators are not seen as front-line workers or the first respondents, and therefore do not get the same level of support.”
Hippern said that the auditor of the RCMP at that conclusion is a slap on the face, as the force recently stripped a bifurcated dispatcher psychological screening – a mental health assessment with a worthy psychologist – and replaced it with a questionnaire.
“We are a group that is related to stress where we can sometimes feel suicide and we have lost people to suicide. This is not funny,” he said.
“We need to live in a good headspace because we are going to be what the calls listen and work. We help Canadians in our worst moments. We are also for our regular members, uniformed members. They will not be able to do our work without us.”
One of its main asking is to classify the RCMP telecom operators as a public safety business for the government, which will affect the retirement of the employees.
“Without us, there is not much public safety within Canada,” he said.
Audit makes five recommendations, including a call for a national recruitment and retention strategy, an update in training to better prepare the operators and an update to establish a tailor health and well -being strategy.
RCMP accepted the findings and the suggested work is going on to implement the recommendations.
Spokesperson Mary-Ev Bretton said, “Lessons learned including relevant strategies, equipment and materials will be taken from the upcoming recruitment workshops and shared with all RCMP divisions as part of the National OCC recruitment strategy.”
“The RCMP continues to join with the Union, with them recently two executive group meetings, one of which was focused on the retention, as we continue to work to recruit and maintain people to work in these important public safety roles.”
Federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandsangari was not available for an interview.
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