Changes required for sake of RCMP officers’ mental health, union says

OTTAWA — The union representing front-line Mounties is urging the RCMP to move beyond “patchwork solutions” to ensure the mental health of officers amid concerns they face increasing risks to their well-being.

In a report, the National Police Federation calls on the RCMP to fully implement its employee well-being strategy, institute regular psychological health screening and make it simpler to access mental-health supports.

The federation released the report, Behind the Badge, at a meeting in Ottawa on Tuesday.

The report says RCMP members are confronted daily with myriad stressors, risks and emotionally taxing situations that invariably take a toll on their psychological health.

It highlights the fact the very nature of their profession exposes them to violence, trauma, high-pressure situations and a relentless demand for vigilance.

The report says this is compounded by everyday sources of stress, such as negative comments from the public, fatigue, staff shortages, lack of resources and bureaucratic red tape.

RCMP officers face stigma related to psychological health issues and a lack of comprehensive and accessible mentalhealth services and supports, the report adds.

Over time, these factors have been shown to accumulate and lead to an array of mentalhealth challenges — from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression to anxiety and a heightened risk of suicidal behaviour, it says.

“The urgent need for increased government investment in mental-health guidance, training, and treatment programs for police officers, especially within the RCMP, is paramount.”

The report includes the results of a survey by the federation and the University of Regina of a representative sample of RCMP members from June 2022 to February 2023.

It found members were six times as likely as the general population to screen positive for any mental-health disorder.

Such figures are considered indicators, not actual diagnoses that require clinical interviews with supporting information.

Members were also far more likely than the general population to have contemplated or planned a suicide in the last year.

“The type of work we do isn’t easy,” RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme told the meeting.

“It requires strength in all forms, and it takes a whole lot of support.”

Duheme said the force was “taking a more holistic approach to mental health as an organization.”