Mountie calls for outside review of RCMP complaints

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Mountie calls for outside review of RCMP complaints

The Canadian Press Published Tuesday, April 17, 2012 9:04AM EDT

Cpl. Catherine Galliford says the RCMP is accountable to no one for the treatment of its employees and a union or similar organization is needed to protect them from a culture that is badly broken.

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VANCOUVER - The first Mountie to publicly claim sexual harassment within the RCMP hopes new rules will scare members who might harass others.

B.C.'s top RCMP officer, Deputy Commissioner Craig Callens, has announced the appointment of 100 officers to investigate sexual harassment complaints.

Cpl. Catherine Galliford says the change is a good first step, but she says an outside agency may be more effective than an internal squad.

She worries that Mounties who harass others, and those who complain about it, will be skeptical of having a fellow officer investigate.

According to Galliford, sexual harassment is much more than rampant within the force, it is part of the culture.

Galliford was a high-profile media relations officer with the RCMP in B.C., but is now on medical leave and went public last November with accusations that repeated sexual harassment by male officers caused her mental illness and alcoholism.