Two Manitoba Mounties die by suicide on duty in September, October

WINNIPEG — The recent suicides of two on-duty Manitoba RCMP officers have renewed calls to address burnout and revamp the force’s policing model.

The union representing RCMP members confirmed one officer died by suicide in September and a second suicide death occurred last month.

Both Mounties were on duty when they died.

“Suicide and related rates in RCMP are just so incredibly high,” said Bobby Baker, the prairie director for the National Police Federation.

Mental-health issues are on the rise as staffing shortages force officers to work more and longer shifts, Baker said.

And while force members have unlimited access to mental-health resources and psychologists, that isn’t the answer, he said.

“The issue is that our officers are burned out, and regardless of the care, they’re burned out with too much work, no disconnect from work,” he said.

“Whether they’re in Major Crimes or they’re in the field, they’re on call after hours, and they’re getting woken up repeatedly during the night, so it impacts their personal life, and they can’t disconnect and then their cup overflows.”

A February 2024 union report titled Beyond the Badge explored mental health among RCMP officers and revealed Mounties are six times more likely to screen for a mental-health disorder than the general public.

The study, which surveyed 1,348 active members of the force between June 2022 and February 2023, found 65 per cent of officers screened positive for a mental illness, up from 50 per cent in 2018.

Members were more than three times more likely to have contemplated suicide in the past year than the general population and more than five times more likely to have planned a suicide, the report said.

Violence, trauma and high-pressure situations, compounded by organizational and operational stressors and mental-health stigmatization were among the risk factors identified in the study.

Manitoba RCMP investigated 58 homicides in 2024, up from 33 in 2023.

“The Major Crimes Unit guys see so much awful, awful stuff and it’s just traumatic and takes a toll on you,” Baker said. “It’s really heavy work and you need a break, but sometimes you can’t get one.”

The report called for several recommendations, including implementing an employee well-being strategy which would help with early identification of employee mental illness, as well as preventative measures and treatment options.

After any critical incident, staff have the opportunity to debrief with a wellness team. Generally, RCMP has employee assistance programs and internal health services complete with psychologists, as well as spiritual services. Members are also eligible to apply to the federal Veterans Affairs Department for supports.

A team was brought in to assist officers affected by the suicides.

“These two incidents here, within a little under two months — it’s had a significant impact here within the Manitoba RCMP family,” said Assistant Commissioner Scott McMurchy, the commanding officer for Manitoba RCMP.

“They’re tragic events. Our folks are hurting because of that.”

Staff can request a leave of absence after traumatic, work-related incidents or otherwise, at which time out-of-province personnel can be transferred in to help short-handed detachments.

McMurchy didn’t have readily available data on the number of Manitoba officers on leave for physical, psychological or family reasons.

The vacancy rate in the RCMP’s Manitoba division — about 15 per cent — is the highest in the country outside the territories.

“Our officers are covering for it; they’re covering for it with on-call and overtime, the shifts aren’t going vacant and our members are just constantly ‘on,’” said Baker, who is also a 29-year member and staff sergeant in the Manitoba division.

“It’s just wrecking them.”

Application processing has been lagging on a national scale. Baker estimated there are in the neighbourhood of 20,000 applications in the queue in Ottawa.

It’s no secret staffing levels have been a challenge, McMurchy said, but he expects that to improve as more junior officers complete training and are stationed in the province.

“On the national level, efforts are being made to ensure that those of us that have those highest vacancy rates are getting our cadet allocations to address that issue specifically,” he said.

McMurchy estimated Manitoba will have nearly 60 new members by March.

Manitoba RCMP is looking at a service delivery review, which is testing a model in which officers who work in fly-in and drive-in communities go back to their home communities on their days off.

There’s also talk of amalgamating resources in small communities.

“So we’d have a greater mass of front-line officers,” McMurchy said.

Baker said he supports the changes, which will help relieve pressure on members, but there is more work to be done.

“It’s been implemented in some of our northern communities and made a world of a difference,” he said. “The RCMP are getting it together… time is of the essence.”

» nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca