An internal RCMP review, carried out following the arrest of a senior officer for allegedly revealing secret information, is urging the federal police to make a significant shift in their approach to better protect their secrets.
The example must also come from above, recommends the study.
The review makes 43 recommendations, including on training, greater adherence to federal security standards for screening and even allowing random body searches to be conducted.
The mission was given to a retired former RCMP superintendent following the September 2019 arrest of the director general of the RCMP’s National Intelligence Coordination Center, Cameron Jay Ortis.
Ortis is charged with violating the Privacy of Information Act. He allegedly tried to leak secret information to “a foreign entity.” He is also accused of breach of trust and of having committed a computer offence.
These charges have not been proven in court.
The report, commissioned by RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, examined organizational factors relating to personnel, facilities and information technology. He also looked at “internal threats” within the police force.
The report was completed in June 2020. It was only released to The Canadian Press recently, 19 months after a request was made under the Access to Information Act.
To see in video