RCMP report chronicles bad cop no-no’s, including on-the-job sexual escapades

An internal RCMP report shows that 56 members of the force were formally disciplined during the 2008-2009 fiscal year for a range of code of conduct violations, including soliciting a prostitute, sexual assault, masturbating in a vehicle and impaired driving.

Four officers – all constables – were ordered to resign. Others received reprimands and forfeitures of pay for up to 10 days.

Another 231 members of the force were informally disciplined for less serious cases. They typically result in reprimands, transfers or some form of counselling.

The report, titled "Management of the RCMP Disciplinary Process" and posted on the RCMP’s website on July 8, is the first of its kind. It came about as a result of a 2008 directive from former public safety minister Stockwell Day to "enhance the transparency of the disciplinary process" within the RCMP.

RCMP spokeswoman Pat Flood said in an email Monday that the agency has spent the last couple years working to eliminate delays in the disciplinary process and to create a more centralized system.

In 2008, the agency established an Adjudicative Services Branch to oversee all formal disciplinary cases, Flood said.

The agency also recently created an Office of Professional Integrity to "guide employee behaviour, better monitor employee conduct as well as to support an ethical environment firmly grounded in the value statements of the organization," she said.

According to the report, the four constables who were ordered to resign had uttered threats, committed sexual assault, improperly used a police vehicle three times, and had sexual relations while on duty.

The 56 members of the force who were formally disciplined were mostly constables, but they also included a corporal who lost 10 days’ pay for harassment; a sergeant who lost eight days’ pay for improper use of a government credit card; another corporal who lost five days’ pay for viewing pornography on a computer; and an inspector who lost three days’ pay for making inappropriate remarks to a co-worker.

There have been an average of 50 formal disciplinary cases per year over the past nine years, according to the report.

The number of members who received informal discipline over the past nine years totalled 1,737. The misconduct included dereliction of duty, improper language or attitude, misuse of equipment, excessive use of force and inadequate case investigation, the report said.

There are approximately 18,500 officers and 3,500 civilian members in the RCMP.