This Ph.D. thesis provides an analysis of "ordered statements" in the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police ("R.C.M.P."). Statements can be compelled from R.C.M.P. members who
are under "internal" investigation for misconduct. Ordered statements from police officers
raise a number of difficult and complex questions that have not been thoroughly examined in
Canada.
Accountability in policing consists of a complex web of criminal, internal,
administrative, public, and civil mechanisms to review misconduct. In order to properly
consider ordered statements four threads of analysis are utilized. First, by way of
background, context and comparison, this thesis describes and evaluates internal
management, culture and discipline in policing, in particular the R.C.M.P. Second, this
thesis examines and evaluates the role of various external mechanisms that regulate police
conduct. Third, various models of civilian oversight are compared and contrasted to position
the R.C.M.P. regime internationally. Fourth, the working environment of police officers
and R.C.M.P. members is explored, demonstrating that it is significantly different from other
occupations, calling into question the applicability of traditional management practices. The
thesis concludes that the legal and constitutional position of ordered statements is uncertain,
adding to morale and organizational problems in the R.C.M.P.
Based on interviews with 107 members, and an examination of other sources, this
thesis reveals how ordered statements in the R.C.M.P. work in actual practice, and how this
mechanism impacts upon individual members and the organization itself. The results reveal
marked disparity between official and member accounts. The material and findings not only
challenge basic theoretical premises that inform the employment context of R.C.M.P. members, they seriously question the function of and need for ordered statements. They also
establish that the specific employment and organizational context must be more adequately
considered by academics and policy-makers when examining the issue of ordered statements.
These findings fill gaps in the literature and hopefully contribute to theory on police
accountability. The thesis ends with a number of recommendations to improve the current
R.C.M.P. regime.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/8595 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | MacMillan, Craig S |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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