Government On Line 2005 Final Report

Overview

The mandate of the RCMP is multi-faceted.  We prevent and investigate crime, maintain order, enforce laws on matters as diverse as health and the protection of government revenues, contribute to national security, ensure the safety of state officials, visiting dignitaries and foreign missions, and provide vital operational support services to other police and law enforcement agencies.   Providing police services to a country as large and diverse as Canada requires an organization that is dynamic.  We are committed to delivering a leading edge policing service to all Canadians. 

Government On Line at the RCMP

As part of Government On Line (GOL), the RCMP is committed to using the Internet to increase and improve the delivery of electronic information services to the Canadian public.

The RCMP Chief Information Officer (CIO) Sector, along with Public Affairs and National Communication Services, coordinates GOL initiatives for the RCMP. There are several online service delivery projects well underway including:

• www.deal.org : “by youth for youth” initiative that focuses on youth-related issues; 
• www.recol.ca : Reporting Economic Crime Online, which facilitates citizen input to the police on economic crime; and, 
• www.cpc.gc.ca : The CIO Sector is working with the Canadian Police College (CPC) on an e-business initiative which will allow Canadian police services to register and conduct business with the CPC online. The CPC also offers distance-learning opportunities to all members of Canadian police and law enforcement agencies via a contracted Internet service provider.

Efforts are also underway to provide and integrate online information across RCMP business lines, either directly through our Internet site ( www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca ), or in association with Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada on their SafeCanada ( www.safecanada.ca ) portal site and the Justice and the Law “cluster” site. Information and services will also be consistent with the other existing service delivery channels – phone, mail, walk-in and kiosk.

As per our Departmental Performance Report to Parliament for 2004-2005, the RCMP undertook the following in support of the Government Online initiative:

Public Safety Portal - Contributions towards achieving Government of Canada Management Initiative:

The RCMP’s contribution to GOL includes an active partnership in Canada’s Public Safety Portal. Since 9/11 and in support of the international fight against terrorism, the RCMP prominently features its National Security Tip-Line on the Public Safety Portal. The RCMP also contributes information to the portal that helps to ensure the safety and security of all Canadians.

In addition, as part of the RCMP’s GOL efforts, some commonly requested forms such as the Consent for Disclosure of Criminal Record Information and the InfoSource – Personal Information Request have been added to its website for use by the Canadian public. Further analysis of client needs and expectations will form the baseline for future GOL activities, e.g. as a result of client surveys, and allow further enhancement of the information and services it provides to Canadians online. 

By increasing online access to CPC registration services, augmenting e-learning opportunities, facilitating citizen input to economic crime enforcement, moving to introduce e-recruiting, and providing electronic access to RCMP Museum products, the RCMP GOL initiatives directly support the federal GOL objective of increasing electronic service delivery to Canadians.

GOL - Items of Special Interest

The deal.org website was created by Canadian youth and is supported by the RCMP. The site provides young people, parents and teachers with access to reliable information on crime prevention and healthy living choices. It provides the information and tools needed to overcome obstacles in personal, family and community life. The site serves as a forum for expression, engaging youth on issues of concern to them. It contains information on the police services provided by the RCMP including traffic law enforcement, restorative justice, search & rescue and personal safety. The deal.org program is striving to better meet the needs of its target audience by completing a comprehensive website review and redesign. The decision to redesign is based on the results of the usability testing as well as feedback from focus groups.

The RECOL.ca website is a one-stop service to the public for reporting economic crime, from credit card fraud to major corporate corruption. It was developed by the RCMP's Commercial Crime Branch and is administered by the National White Collar Crime Centre of Canada. The initiative is based on partnerships with international, federal and provincial law enforcement agencies, as well as regulators and private commercial organizations that have a legitimate investigative interest in receiving a copy of complaints of economic crime. Complaints are received online and recommended to the enforcement and regulatory agencies and private commercial organizations for potential investigation. In addition to economic crime online reporting services, the site offers data on current fraud trends, and education, fraud prevention and awareness information.

E-Policing in the RCMP - Looking Forward

The RCMP is committed to continually improving service delivery to citizens, clients, partners, stakeholders and employees.  We regularly undertake surveys to assess views of Canadian citizens, , clients of contract policing, policing partners, stakeholders and employees on RCMP policing services.  The RCMP Core Surveys are key to obtaining systematic feedback about the quality of service delivered to our clients and communities.  The survey process is an important tool to help measure progress, to identify requirements that should be met and to provide valuable information on how we can improve service.  The results from these surveys have been incorporated into the RCMP’s business planning cycle and provide key information to help facilitate our organization’s performance management and business planning.   The survey results help to further indicate the levels of satisfaction in RCMP service areas such as providing safe homes and communities, quality of service, professionalism, sensitivity to different needs and community involvement. With regard to methodology, the survey of Canadian citizens was conducted on the phone to a sample of Canadian households. In total, 8,484 completed interviews were obtained. For clients, partners and stakeholders, a questionnaire was faxed or emailed. Follow-up faxes/emails were sent to all partners to encourage response. Furthermore, on-line interactive Web versions of all questionnaires were made available to respondents. 

There is a strong sense that the Canadian public prefers face-to-face policing and law enforcement interactions. However, ongoing scans, an e-policing study and opinion-seeking, notably via our annual survey of citizens will be pursued to identify additional areas for online service delivery.