‘Toxic and dysfunctional’: Vernon RCMP detachment has long history of poor management

Nights on watch at the Vernon RCMP detachment is not always responding to calls, there are checkboxes to tick and curfews to check.

One night, a veteran officer told iNFOnews.ca, serious police work interrupted and he couldn’t file the night’s paperwork before the end of his shift the next morning. He figured he could file probation checks the following morning, but by then it was too late. 

He was pulled into his boss’s office and issued a Code of Conduct – a form of RCMP discipline that can have devastating career consequences.

“I was just mortified,” he said. “When I left Vernon detachment, I had one overwhelming reality: It was the most toxic and dysfunctional place I had ever worked. I never trusted the ‘whiteshirts’ there, because they were vindictive and retaliatory.”

Sean, not his real name, was one of more than half a dozen former and current Mounties, many from Vernon, others from detachments around the province and beyond who responded privately to our story about desperate Mounties seeking help for what they say is a toxic work environment.

Several officers told us independently about problems at the detachment — officers with workplace mental health injuries being unsupported or even disciplined by senior management, facing career-threatening disciplinary proceedings for minor transgressions, illegal or unlawful orders, dangerously low-staffing due to morale, among others.

Sean corroborates much of what we were told, but with one key difference — he transferred out of Vernon long ago. His story is 10 years old.

That was long before current managers were in place, but it was around the time officers at the same detachment risked their careers to tell iNFOnews.ca about unacceptable dangers they were asked to accept and the consequences of complaining about them. 

A toxic work environment is not a new problem, but that then makes it a bigger problem if it’s learned behaviour. 

“This behaviour from senior management is rampant throughout the organization,” a civilian working at the RCMP who reached out to us said. “It is refreshing to see former members having the courage to share their experiences.”

That’s happening more and more. The RCMP has been giving lip service to the problem since at least 2017 when more than 3,000 female members filed a class action suit alleging gender based harassment and discrimination. It garnered a scathing report and a $125 million payout. Followed in 2022 with a $1.1-billion class action suit alleging “systemic negligence” in cases of bullying and intimidation.

So it’s not much solace for many officers, then, that the solution to the more acute problems in the North Okanagan will have to come from within the police force.

Politicians at the local municipalities who pay for it have little to no power or control. They are consulted when the RCMP assigns a detachment commander, but have little say in who, how it’s run or in holding them accountable. 

We asked mayors and councillors from across the North Okanagan for reaction to our story. None responded except Kevin Acton, the mayor of Lumby.

He said he was very surprised by the allegations because his interactions with senior officers has only been positive.

“I know for us, we’ve seen a marked improvement with the new superintendent,” Acton said. “In no way am I disregarding the complaints that have been made… I’m just shocked.”

Acton is clear he’s not choosing a side, but said he will be contacting the RCMP commissioner about the allegations. 

“They’ll be talking about it for sure,” he said. “We don’t want our officers leaving on stress leave or because they’re being bullied or harassed.”

iNFOnews.ca had made numerous requests for an interview with Supt. Macleod and not once had a response.