The Edmonton Police Association, the union that represents 1,850 sworn police officers, is calling for an investigation into what it calls “the culture of fear and blame” in the Edmonton Police Service.
EPA President Maurice Brodeur released the results of a member survey conducted by the association Tuesday.
He said 60 per cent of EPA’s members completed the survey and 80 per cent said they feel like they work in a culture of fear and blame, driven from the top down. Brodeur said the exact wording of the question in the survey was: “Do you feel that you are working in a culture of fear?”
Just over 40 per cent of respondents said they strongly agreed while nearly 39 per cent said they agreed.
Brodeur said the results of the survey suggest a “psychologically unsafe workplace.”
The police association is calling for an independent, third-party investigation into what that “culture of fear” means and how to fix it. It is asking the police commission and city council to act on the request.
Brodeur said the EPA previously asked for a study to be done. He said Police Chief Rod Knecht declined to have it done and said EPS would do its own engagement survey. Brodeur, however, said those results were “flawed” due to members’ concerns with anonymity.
Watch below: The Edmonton Police Association says officers are working under a culture of “fear and blame.” The union said the results of a survey, which was completed by 60 per cent of its approximately 1,850 members, showed there were some concerns. But as Quinn Ohler reports, the police chief said he is hearing a different story.
The EPA president said this is not an attack on the police chief, but rather an attack on the culture of fear within the service which “lies within the highest leadership positions of EPS.”
Brodeur stressed the purpose of this news conference was to bring attention to the current state of health and wellness in the police service.
“The men and women who protect this city needed this to be done,” he said.
He said the EPA would like to work with the EPS to address the concerns raised in the survey.
“We’ve had issues within EPS for some time,” Brodeur said. “We’d like to work with the chief to fix this… We need to drill down into the culture of fear.”
When officers were asked if they agree with the statement “Chief Knecht’s approach to discipline is fair,” almost 38 per cent of respondents said they “disagree” while nearly 34 per cent said they “strongly disagree.”
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Police Chief Rod Knecht said he doesn’t believe there is a “culture of fear” in the service. He also said the senior officers’ association – another police union – doesn’t believe there is one either.
“We invest heavily in these people over their career… We don’t want to lose them, but there is a standard,” Knecht said.
However, he said if the police association feels an independent investigation is necessary, he “welcomes any such review.”
The chief said there were 1,319 formal complaints – internal and from the public – about police last year. Every single one was investigated, Knecht said. Out of those 1,319, 1.4 per cent resulted in disciplinary hearings. Only one EPS member was fired in 2015, the chief said.
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“Incidents that involve members making honest mistakes do not result in disciplinary action,” he said.
“Police officers are held to a higher standard. The public expects this and so do I.”
Knecht referenced the last public survey that put Edmontonians’ confidence in local police at 94 per cent.
When it comes to discipline, Knecht said he doesn’t enjoy it but it is necessary in some cases.
“That is not a pleasant part of my job but it is my job.”
“We are not discipline-laden,” he stressed. “The facts just don’t bear that out… We don’t go out looking for discipline. People make choices, people make mistakes and sometimes those bad choices end up on my desk.”
Knecht said more serious cases are handed over to another party – like ASIRT or Alberta Justice – so police aren’t investigating police.
“That’s taken right out our hands and I think that’s a good thing.”
The chief said, in the EPS’ most recent engagement survey, members said discipline was actually a priority.
“They want their fellow officers to be properly held countable,” Knecht said.
In the end, the chief would like to work with the police association to address these concerns and improve the lines of communication. Knecht shared he had a stronger relationship with the former EPA president and doesn’t meet with Brodeur as much.
“I would like to see a collective – a better relationship,” Knecht said. “I’d like to see more open, more forthright communication. At the end of the day, it’s all about the members.”
“Happy members out on the street makes for a better relationship with the public.”
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