Follow-up to the Operational Communications Centres Audit

Final Report: November 2013

This report has been reviewed in consideration of the Access to Information and Privacy Acts. The published information is UNCLASSIFIED.

Table of Contents

Caveat

The result of this work does not constitute an audit of Operational Communication Centres. Rather, this report was prepared to provide reasonable assurance that the Management Action Plans outlined in the June 2008 Operational Communications Centres Audit, were implemented and have addressed the recommendations.

Executive Summary

Operational Communications Centers (OCCs) are the first line of contact for the public while providing support to front-line policing activities of the RCMP. There are 32 RCMP OCCs across the country: 22 provincial/federal centres, staffed by RCMP Civilian Members, and 10 municipal/regional centres, staffed by municipal employees. It is important to ensure that RCMP members are afforded the same level of service no matter where they serve across Canada. To do so requires consistent application of standards at all federal, provincial and municipal partner levels. This in turn also ensures that the needs of the public are also efficiently and effectively met. In 2007-2008, Internal Audit conducted an audit to assess the adequacy of the management control framework over the OCCs and to assess compliance with relevant government and departmental regulations and policies. The audit concluded that an adequate management control framework was not in place at that time and a number of recommendations to strengthen management practices were made.

The objective of this engagement was to determine whether the RCMP has implemented corrective actions that adequately address the recommendations made in the June 2008 Operational Communications Centres Audit.

The follow-up identified that significant progress has been achieved in the vast majority of areas identified for improvement in the 2008 audit. It was determined that management action plans were sufficiently implemented for all but two recommendations which related to the governance over municipal OCCs and risk management.

The follow-up report includes recommendations to support the full implementation of the original recommendations which are still relevant. Management Action Plans have been provided in response to these recommendations. RCMP Internal Audit (IA) will monitor the progress made in implementing the Management Action Plan.

Management's Response

Contract and Aboriginal Policing (CAP) is pleased to accept the RCMP's IA findings and recommendations. We appreciate the attention and support provided to the Operational Communications Centre National Support Services (OCCNSS) during this process.

CAP agrees with the recommendation to continue to ensure common standards are in place in all OCCs and will include Municipal OCCs in OCCNSS' Managers' distribution list, along with a communiqué to Divisional Criminal Operations (CROPS) to reiterate the importance of bolstering their relationships with Detachment Commanders and Municipal OCCs.

We agree with the findings and recommendation to formalize the risk identification / assessment process employed by OCCSs, and are committed to the development of a formal ongoing effective risk management process. This documented process will identify, assess, and prioritize OCC risk areas and be linked to program activities.

The OCCNSS' Management Action Plan has been amended to address both of these recommendations.

Janice Armstrong

Acting Deputy Commissioner, CAP

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose of the Follow-up

The objective of this engagement was to determine whether the RCMP has implemented corrective actions that adequately address the recommendations made in the June 2008 Operational Communications Centres Audit.

1.2 Context

OCCs operate with the mandate to ensure front line members receive the best possible direct operational support and as the first point of emergency and non-emergency contact for the public. There are 32 RCMP OCCs across the country: 22 provincial/federal centres, staffed by RCMP Civilian Members, and 10 municipal/regional centres, staffed by municipal employees. E Division has the largest number of OCCs with 13: 7 provincial/federal and 6 municipal, with parts of the Lower Mainland District served by E-Comm, a not-for-profit corporation with which the RCMP has a special user agreement. Additionally, Halifax Regional Police Service, an integrated detachment consisting of both Halifax Regional Police and RCMP members, is served by Integrated Emergency Services, a municipal telecommunications centre which dispatches police, fire and ambulance for the Halifax Regional Municipality.

In 2007-2008, Internal Audit conducted an audit to assess the adequacy of the management control framework over the OCCs and to assess compliance with relevant government and departmental regulations and policies. The audit concluded that an adequate management control framework was not in place at that time. A number of recommendations to strengthen management practices were made in the areas of governance, policy, performance standards, training and monitoring. With respect to compliance with relevant policies, the audit concluded that OCCs were generally compliant with the Official Languages Act and the Canada Labour Code Part II. Areas of non-compliance were noted with legislation related to Business Continuity Planning and some Human Resource policies.

A Management Action Plan (MAP) was developed to address the recommendations resulting from the 2007-2008 audit and was approved in June 2008 by the then Departmental Audit Committee.

Since that time, Internal Audit has monitored the implementation of management actions through its regular quarterly audit follow-up process for which information on progress is obtained and reviewed. It had been noted that the implementation of some of the management actions had taken longer than originally anticipated.

Based on importance of the role OCCs play in supporting front line policing as well as the significance of the recommendations, a more in depth follow-up engagement of the 2008 Operational Communications Centres audit was identified in the 2012-2015 Risk-Based Audit Plan which was approved by the Commissioner.

1.3 Methodology

This engagement was not a re-audit of the same areas assessed in the 2008 audit. Internal audit undertook to assess and provide reasonable assurance that the MAPs committed to in the 2008 audit report were implemented.

The following methods were used to assess MAP implementation:

  • Analyzed all previous status updates received for each recommendation.
  • Conducted interviews with key staff at the National Headquarters policy center, and a sample of OCC Managers and Detachment Commanders in the Divisions.
  • Collected, reviewed and analyzed documentation supporting the implementation status of the management action plans.

The work for this follow-up was conducted in accordance with the Internal Auditing Standards for the Government of Canada.

2. Follow-up Findings

2.1 Overall Observations

The follow-up identified that significant progress has been achieved in the majority of areas identified for improvement in the 2008 audit. It was determined that management action plans were sufficiently implemented for 16 out of the 18 recommendations. The two remaining recommendations related to governance over municipal OCCs and risk management had limited progress and additional efforts are required to ensure their full implementation. Some of the 16 management actions implemented are on-going initiatives which will require continued effort and a few key initiatives have just recently been implemented (e.g. Standardized national training program, new employee screening tool, workload studies, performance information gathering.) The evaluation of the effectiveness of these initiatives could be better assessed once they have been fully implemented at a future point in time.

2.2 Municipal Operations Communication Centres

Limited progress has been noted with respect to one of the recommendations made in the area of Governance. The recommendation stated that the RCMP should exercise its authority with respect to municipal OCCs requiring them to adopt the same standards as provincial/federal OCCs.

A general clause in the Municipal Policing Services Agreements makes provisions for support staff, which includes telecommunications operators employed in the OCCs. The agreement states that "Support staff shall meet the job and other related requirements as determined by the Commissioner". Although the clause is general, it provides the mechanism for the RCMP to exercise authority over municipal OCC operations. OCC National Support Services explained that the RCMP has not exercised this authority over municipal OCCs. Therefore standards in place in federal/provincial OCCs such as new employee testing tools, requirements for regular psychological assessments and audiograms, training, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) that are in place for provincial/federal OCCs have not been required of municipal OCCs.

Municipal RCMP Detachment commanders interviewed during the follow-up felt they were well supported by their municipal OCCs and that the reporting relationships allowed them to address any areas of concern. However, commanders were not always aware of the national SOPs and other standards, such as training and staffing requirements, that are expected to be in place in the Municipal OCC. Municipal OCC Managers were also not aware of RCMP policy centre activities due to limited communication between them. There was a general willingness among municipal OCC managers and Municipal Detachment commanders to integrate into the broader RCMP OCC "community" for the purposes of staying current with national policy, participating in any national initiatives, and networking with other OCCs.

Exempting municipal OCCs from national standards and excluding them from policy centre communications is a missed opportunity to ensure minimum standards are in place in all OCCs, that best practices are shared, and duplication of efforts are minimized (i.e. training programs.) Without on-going monitoring and enforcement of similar standards in municipal OCCs that serve the RCMP, the risk exists that public and member safety could be impacted.

Given that the RCMP has the mechanism to promote similar standards in all OCCs that serve the Force, it should continue to work to ensure that common standards are in place. Regular communication with municipal OCCs such as inclusion in the monthly national teleconference and invitation to the annual OCC conference would allow for community building, expectation setting and overall monitoring of OCC activity.

Recently, an Advisory Committee was created with a mandate to examine issues impacting on the administration of OCCs from a national perspective. The Committee's function consists of identifying and prioritizing these issues, facilitate a broad examination and make recommendations to Operational Communication Centre National Support Services on proposed actions plans where required and/or the development of policy where warranted. The composition of the Committee could be improved by adding a municipal OCC representative to ensure the municipal OCC perspective is taken into account when setting strategic direction.

2.3 Risk Management

As part of the recommendation to define national objectives to OCCs, the 2008 audit recommended that the risks to the achievement of those objectives be identified and addressed. The work carried out as part of the follow-up confirmed that the risk identification/assessment process remains informal and undocumented. However, risks/challenges to the realization of objectives are being identified and action plans have been developed to mitigate them through on going mechanisms such as environmental scanning, the Advisory Committee composed of OCC Managers, monthly teleconferences and the Annual OCC Conference. What is missing is a documented process whereby risks are identified, assessed, prioritized and linked to program priorities which is a methodology supported by RCMP's approach to Integrated Risk Management as outlined in the Administration Manual 18.3.

An assessment and analysis of risks to the OCCs would support priority setting at both the policy centre and individual OCCs. Formally capturing and documenting risks nationally would also allow for their recognition in the Department's corporate risk profile and raise awareness of the program's risks among senior management.

3. Recommendations

  1. The Deputy Commissioner, Contract and Aboriginal Policing should continue to ensure that common standards are in place in all OCCs.
  2. The Deputy Commissioner, Contract and Aboriginal Policing should formalize the risk identification/assessment process employed by OCCs.

4. Conclusion

The follow-up concluded that the majority of recommendations from the 2008 audit have been sufficiently addressed. Further efforts are required to implement two outstanding recommendations which would strengthen the management framework over OCCs.

Given the importance of OCCs in supporting front line policing, there remains an inherent risk related to their operations. The need to conduct a future audit should be considered through the annual risk-based audit plan process. A future audit would allow for an assessment of recently implemented initiatives.

Appendix A - Detailed Management Action Plans

Recommendation

1. The Deputy Commissioner, Contract and Aboriginal Policing should continue to ensure that common standards are in place in all OCCs.

Management Action Plan

OCCNSS will forward communication, for CROPS, through the Deputy Commissioner CAP, to provide an overview of RCMP national standards in relation to OCC recruiting, operating procedures, training, medicals and security clearances. Communication will request CROPS provide Municipal OCC management with these standards to support adoption by municipal OCCs for consistent RCMP service delivery.

OCCNSS will encourage CROPS and OCC Managers, nationally, to communicate and educate Detachment Commanders, within their span of control/jurisdiction, on the roles, responsibilities and SOPs governing OCCs.

OCCNSS will include Municipal OCCs in the email distribution of all additions/deletions and modifications and stakeholder feedback for National Policies and SOPs governing RCMP OCC administration and operations.

OCCNSS will encourage Municipal OCC involvement in annual National Manager's conferences and teleconferences by extending email invitations.

OCCNSS Advisory Committee Municipal Liaison representative will continue to meet with Municipal Managers on an annual basis where current practice exists.

OCCNSS will invite Municipal OCCs to include OCCNSS in all communications involving OCC operations and administration that may have a national impact or influence.

Completion date: October 15, 2013

Position Responsible: OIC, OCCNSS

Recommendation

2. The Deputy Commissioner, Contract and Aboriginal Policing should formalize the risk identification/assessment process employed by OCCs.

Management Action Plan

OCCNSS Advisory Committee has and will continue to provide direction and support in determining risks and priorities for National OCCs. These priorities are documented at the OCCNSS Advisory Committee Annual Conference and provide direction for OCCNSS resources.

Risk and priorities will be updated and reviewed regularly by the OCCNSS Advisory Committee.

Completion date: December 15, 2013

Position Responsible: OIC, OCCNSS

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