Royal Canadian Mounted Police Research Articles

Prevalence of Current Chronic Pain in Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cadets

ABSTRACT Background Nearly half of active duty Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers (i.e. 43%) report experiencing current chronic pain (i.e. pain lasting longer than 3 months). Most RCMP officers (i.e. 91%) who report chronic pain indicate that the pain started after working as RCMP officers. Baseline data on chronic pain prevalence among RCMP cadets has not been available. Aims The current study was designed to provide cross-sectional estimates of chronic pain prevalence among RCMP cadets starting the Cadet Training Program and to assess for sociodemographic differences among participants. Methods The RCMP Study uses a longitudinal prospective sequential experimental cohort design to create a clustered randomized trial that engages individual participants for 5.5 years. The current manuscript provides cross-sectional associations between chronic pain prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics. Participants were RCMP cadets (n=770) starting the Cadet Training Program. Location, intensity (i.e. on a 0-10 scale, and days per week experienced), and duration (i.e. number of months) of chronic pain was reported. Differences across sociodemographic characteristics were examined. Results Few RCMP cadets reported experiencing chronic pain (i.e. 10%); lower back pain was rated as the most severe in terms of intensity and duration, and second most frequently reported in number of days experienced per week. Prevalence of chronic pain was lower among RCMP cadets than RCMP officers. Conclusions Chronic pain prevalence among active duty RCMP officers may result from or be moderated by operational duties, as well as routine aging. Future researchers could examine ways to mitigate chronic pain development during RCMP officer careers.

Mental health disorder symptoms among serving Royal Canadian Mounted Police

ABSTRACT The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) experience extraordinary exposures to diverse occupational stressors, potentially exacerbated by systemic stressors (e.g., public calls for pervasive organizational changes, the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters). The current study was designed to assess the mental health of currently serving RCMP (n = 1348) who completed an online survey from June 2022 to February 2023. The positive screening prevalence for any mental health disorder was higher (ps<.05) for current participants (64.7%) than previously reported for RCMP members (50.2%), diverse public safety personnel (44.5%), and the general population diagnostic prevalence (10.1%). Women were less likely (ps<.05) to screen positive for posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder than men participants. RCMP participants evidenced substantially more mental health challenges than previous assessments, underscoring urgent and growing needs for proactive, ongoing, evidence-based supports for RCMP mental health, at the individual, organizational, and structural levels.

JOINT INTEROPERABILITY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGIC COORDINATION GROUPS

On November 14, 2023, Director General Liam Price, International Special Services, International Policing, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), presented Joint Interoperability and the Importance of Strategic Coordination Groups for this year’s West Coast Security Conference. The key points discussed were that the nature of criminality is evolving to increasingly encompass cross-border, technologically adept, and highly adaptable strategies, and policing organizations must advance and expand their tactics and training to create effective solutions. This involves creating common legal frameworks, emphasizing shared policing values and enhancing information sharing capabilities.&#x0D; &#x0D; Received: 12-18-2023&#x0D; Revised: 01-26-2024

Operational Stress Injury

An operational stress injury (OSI) is a term used most often to describe mental disorders which result from, or are exacerbated by, military or police service. In the Canadian context, this most often refers to active or former members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The most common diagnoses within this term include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, depression, and substance use disorders.

Cardioautonomic lability assessed by heart rate variability changes in Royal Canadian Mounted Police cadets during the cadet training program.

The current study examined variations in cardioautonomic lability during the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Cadet Training Program (CTP) between cadets starting their training who did or did not screen positive for one or more mental health disorders (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], major depressive disorder [MDD], social anxiety disorder [SAD], generalized anxiety disorder [GAD], panic disorder [PD], alcohol use disorder [AUD]). Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals integrated into Hexoskin garments were used to record ECG and heart rate Over the 26-week CTP. There were 31 heart rate variability (HRV) parameters calculated using Kubios Premium HRV analysis software. Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to perform groupwise comparisons of participant raw values and HRV during the CTP. A total of 157 cadets (79% male) were screened for any mental disorder using self-report surveys and then grouped by positive and negative screening. Analyses indicated a statistically significant (p < 0.05) decrease in low frequency (LF): High Frequency (HF) variability during CTP, but only for cadets who endorsed clinically significant anxiety symptoms on the GAD-7 at the start of their training. There were no other statistically significant groupwise differences. The results indicate the participants have excellent cardiac health overall and suggest potentially important differences between groups, such that cadets who endorsed clinically significant anxiety symptoms on the GAD-7 showed less variability in the LF:HF ratio over the course of the CTP. The relatively lower variability suggests decreased parasympathetic tone in those without clinically significant anxiety symptoms. The results also have important implications for future investigations of cardioautonomic dysfunction and chronic hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis deviations in policing populations with anxiety disorders; specifically, cardioautonomic inflexibility related to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In any case, the current results provide an important baseline for future cardiac research with cadets and serving officers.

Daily survey participation and positive changes in mental health symptom scores among Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cadets.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers self-report high levels of mental health disorder symptoms, such as alcohol use disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Participation in regular mental health monitoring has been associated with improved mental health disorder symptom reporting and may provide an accessible tool to support RCMP mental health. The current study assessed relationships between self-reported mental health disorder symptoms and the completion of daily surveys (i.e., daily mental health disorder symptom monitoring) by RCMP cadets during the Cadet Training Program (CTP). Participants were RCMP cadets (n = 394; 76.1% men) in the Standard Training Program who completed the 26-week CTP and daily self-monitoring surveys, as well as full mental health assessments at pre-training (i.e., starting the CTP) and pre-deployment (i.e., ~2 weeks prior to deployment to the field). Symptoms of alcohol use disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder were assessed. Changes in mental health disorder symptom reporting from pre-training to pre-deployment were calculated. Spearman's rank correlations were estimated for number of daily surveys completed and change in mental health disorder symptom scores between pre-training and pre-deployment. There were statistically significant inverse relationships between number of daily surveys completed and number of mental health disorder symptoms reported; specifically, cadets who completed more daily surveys during CTP reported fewer symptoms of alcohol use disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. An inverse correlation between number of daily surveys completed and mental health disorder symptom scores indicated that participation in daily mental health monitoring was associated with improvements in self-reported mental health disorder symptoms between pre-training and pre-deployment. Regular self-monitoring of mental health disorder symptoms may help to mitigate mental health challenges among RCMP cadets and officers.

‘Not everybody can do this job’: a qualitative inquiry into emotional labour from RCMP detachment services assistants

Many police organisations employ and rely on public servants to complete specialised tasks with their organisations. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) regularly hires public servants known as Detachment Services Assistants (DSAs) to take on various support roles. As part of DSAs’ many clerical and administrative responsibilities, these workers must often perform emotional labour across different job tasks, which in turn, can be a personal yet occupationally mandated source of stress and strain. In the current study, we draw from semi-structured interviews with DSAs (n = 54) to investigate the different situations in which DSAs undertake emotional labour, the various styles of emotional labour DSAs perform, and the negative toll emotional labour places on DSAs in their workplace. Our research aims to contribute to the broader emotional labour literature on policing and the niche police literature on public servants, a form of civilian staff, employed by the RCMP.

Mental Health of Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the Start of the Cadet Training Program.

Serving Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have screened positive for one or more mental disorders based on self-reported symptoms with substantial prevalence (i.e., 50.2%). Mental health challenges for military and paramilitary populations have historically been attributed to insufficient recruit screening; however, cadet mental health when starting the Cadet Training Program (CTP) was unknown. Our objective was to estimate RCMP Cadet mental health when starting the CTP and test for sociodemographic differences. Cadets starting the CTP completed a survey assessing self-reported mental health symptoms (n = 772, 72.0% male) and a clinical interview (n = 736, 74.4% male) with a clinician or supervised trainee using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview to assess current and past mental health. The percentage of participants screening positive for one or more current mental disorders based on self-reported symptoms (15.0%) was higher than the diagnostic prevalence for the general population (10.1%); however, based on clinical interviews, participants were less likely to screen positive for any current mental disorder (6.3%) than the general population. Participants were also less likely to screen positive for any past mental disorder based on self-report (3.9%) and clinical interviews (12.5%) than the general population (33.1%). Females were more likely to score higher than males (all ps<.01; Cohen's ds .23 to .32) on several self-report mental disorder symptom measures. The current results are the first to describe RCMP cadet mental health when starting the CTP. The data evidenced a lower prevalence of anxiety, depressive, and trauma-related mental disorders than the general population based on clinical interviews, contrasting notions that more rigorous mental health screening would reduce the high prevalence of mental disorders among serving RCMP. Instead, protecting RCMP mental health may require ongoing efforts to mitigate operational and organizational stressors.

Putative risk and resiliency factors among Royal Canadian Mounted Police cadets.

Mental health disorders are prevalent among active-duty Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers. The current study was designed to assess whether RCMP cadets commencing the Cadet Training Program are inherently at greater risk of developing mental health challenges by statistically comparing cadet putative risk and resiliency scores to scores from young adult populations. The study was also designed to assess for sociodemographic differences in putative risk and resiliency variables among RCMP cadets in order to facilitate future comparisons. Cadets (n = 772; 72.2% men) completed self-report measures of several putative risk variables (i.e., anxiety sensitivity, fear of negative evaluation, pain anxiety, illness and injury sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, and state anger) and resiliency. Scores were statistically compared to samples from Canadian, American, Australian, and European young adult populations. Cadets had statistically significantly lower scores on all putative risk variables and statistically significantly higher resiliency scores compared to the young adult populations. In the cadet sample, there were statistically significant differences in putative risk and resiliency variables across gender and sex. Cadets' significantly lower scores on putative risk variables and higher scores on resiliency suggest that they may be psychologically strong; as such, it may be that the nature of police work, as opposed to inherent individual differences in risk and resiliency, accounts for active-duty RCMP officers' comparatively higher prevalence of mental health disorders over time.Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier NCT05527509.

Personality Profiles of Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cadets Starting the Cadet Training Program

Personalities of those entering the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Cadet Training Program (CTP) are unknown and may differ to the general public. The current study provides the first known detailed analyses of personality trait, sociodemographic, and gender differences among RCMP cadets. The current study draws data from the RCMP Longitudinal PTSD Study (www.rcmpstudy.ca). Participating RCMP cadets (n = 772) starting the CTP completed a web-based questionnaire which included sociodemographic questions and the six-factor HEXACO personality inventory. Cadet women reported significantly higher scores on the HEXACO factors of Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, and Conscientiousness and lower scores on Agreeableness and Openness to Experience than cadet men. Older cadets (+ 40 years old) and cadets with more education (university degree or higher) also scored significantly higher on all factor-level scales, except for Extraversion. Relative to the general population, participating cadets reported significantly higher levels of Honesty-Humility, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness and lower levels of Emotionality and Openness to Experience. Cadets also reported significantly higher scores on the HEXACO facet-level scales of Fairness and lower scores on Fearfulness and Unconventionality. The current results highlight potentially important HEXACO factor-level and facet-level differences between cadet men and women and between the general population and RCMP cadets.

Potentially Psychologically Traumatic Event Exposure Histories of new Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cadets.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) report extremely frequent and varied exposures to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTEs). While occupational exposures to PPTEs may be one explanation for the symptoms of mental disorders prevalent among serving RCMP, exposures occurring prior to service may also play a role. The objective of the current study was to provide estimates of lifetime PPTE exposures among RCMP cadets in training and assess for associations with mental disorders or sociodemographic variables. RCMP cadets (n = 772; 72.0% male) beginning the Cadet Training Program (CTP) completed a survey assessing self-reported PPTE exposures as measured by the Life Events Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition-Extended. Binomial tests were conducted to compare the current results to previously collected data from the general population, a diverse sample of public safety personnel (PSP) and serving RCMP. Cadets reported statistically significantly fewer PPTE exposures for all PPTE types than serving RCMP (all p's < 0.001) and PSP (all p's < 0.001) but more PPTE exposures for all PPTE types than the general population (all p's < 0.001). Cadets also endorsed fewer PPTE types (6.00 ± 4.47) than serving RCMP (11.64 ± 3.40; p < 0.001) and other PSP (11.08 ± 3.23) but more types than the general population (2.31 ± 2.33; p < 0.001). Participants who reported being exposed to any PPTE type reported the exposures occurred 1-5 times (29.1% of participants), 6-10 times (18.3%) or 10 + times (43.1%) before starting the CTP. Several PPTE types were associated with positive screens for one or more mental disorders. There were associations between PPTE types and increased odds of screening positive for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) (all p's < 0.05). Serious transport accident (11.1%), physical assault (9.5%) and sudden accidental death (8.4%) were the PPTEs most identified as the worst event, and all were associated with positive screens for one or more mental disorders. The current results provide the first information describing PPTE histories of cadets, evidencing exposure frequencies and types much higher than the general population. PPTE exposures may have contributed to the cadet's vocational choices. The current results support the growing evidence that PPTEs can be associated with diverse mental disorders; however, the results also suggest cadets may be uncommonly resilient, based on how few screened positive for mental disorders, despite reporting higher frequencies of PPTE exposures prior to CTP than the general population.

Suicidal Ideation, Planning, and Attempts Among new Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cadets.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) report diverse occupational stressors and repeated exposures to potentially psychologically traumatic events, which may increase the odds of screening positive for a mental disorder, and increase the risk of death by suicide. The current study was designed to provide prevalence information regarding suicidal behaviours (i.e., ideation, planning, attempts) and assess for sociodemographic differences among cadets at the start of the RCMP Cadet Training Program (CTP). Cadets (n = 736, 74.0% male) were administered the structured Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview by a mental health clinician or a supervised clinical psychologist trainee. The interview includes an assessment of past month suicidal ideation, planning, attempts and lifetime suicide attempts. Within 1 month of starting the CTP, a small percentage of cadets reported past month suicidal ideation (1.6%) and no cadets reported any suicidal planning (0%) or attempts (0%). Lifetime suicide attempts were reported by (1.5%) of cadets. The current results provide the first information describing the prevalence of suicidal ideation, planning, and attempts among RCMP cadets starting the CTP. The estimates of suicidal behaviours appear lower than the general population and lower than reports from serving RCMP. Higher prevalence estimates of suicidal behaviours reported by serving RCMP, relative to lower estimates among cadets starting the CTP in the current study, may be related to age, cumulative experiences or protracted exposures to operational and organizational stressors, rather than insufficient screening of recruits.

STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR MANAGING PROTESTS: A NEW ERA

On November 24, 2022, Chief Superintendent (CS) John Brewer, acting Criminal Operations Officer for Core Policing from the British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), presented Strategic Considerations for Managing Protests: A New Era. The key points discussed were the objectives of modern-day protests, the individuals attending protests who pose potential security threats, and recommendations on mitigating those security threats. Received: 2022-12-23Revised: 2023-01-02

Assessing the impact of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) protocol and Emotional Resilience Skills Training (ERST) among diverse public safety personnel

Public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., border services personnel, correctional workers, firefighters, paramedics, police, public safety communicators) are frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events. Such events contribute to substantial and growing challenges from posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSIs), including but not limited to posttraumatic stress disorder. The current protocol paper describes the PSP PTSI Study (i.e., design, measures, materials, hypotheses, planned analyses, expected implications, and limitations), which was originally designed to evaluate an evidence-informed, proactive system of mental health assessment and training among Royal Canadian Mounted Police for delivery among diverse PSP (i.e., firefighters, municipal police, paramedics, public safety communicators). Specifically, the PSP PTSI Study will: (1) adapt, implement, and assess the impact of a system for ongoing (i.e., annual, monthly, daily) evidence-based assessments; (2) evaluate associations between demographic variables and PTSI; (3) longitudinally assess individual differences associated with PTSI; and, (4) assess the impact of providing diverse PSP with a tailored version of the Emotional Resilience Skills Training originally developed for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in mitigating PTSIs based on the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders. Participants are assessed pre- and post-training, and then at a follow-up 1-year after training. The assessments include clinical interviews, self-report surveys including brief daily and monthly assessments, and daily biometric data. The current protocol paper also describes participant recruitment and developments to date. The PSP PTSI Study is an opportunity to implement, test, and improve a set of evidence-based tools and training as part of an evidence-informed solution to protect PSP mental health. The current protocol paper provides details to inform and support translation of the PSP PTSI Study results as well as informing and supporting replication efforts by other researchers. Hypotheses Registration: aspredicted.org, #90136. Registered 7 March 2022-Prospectively registered. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05530642. Registered 1 September 2022-Retrospectively registered. The subsequent PSP PTSI Study results are expected to benefit the mental health of all participants and, ultimately, all PSP.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Study: protocol for a prospective investigation of mental health risk and resilience factors

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), like all public safety personnel (PSP), are frequently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events that contribute to posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSI). Addressing PTSI is impeded by the limited available research. In this protocol paper, we describe the RCMP Study, part of the concerted efforts by the RCMP to reduce PTSI by improving access to evidence-based assessments, treatments and training as well as participant recruitment and RCMP Study developments to date. The RCMP Study has been designed to (1) develop, deploy and assess the impact of a system for ongoing annual, monthly and daily evidence-based assessments; (2) evaluate associations between demographic variables and PTSI; (3) longitudinally assess individual differences associated with PTSI; (4) augment the RCMP Cadet Training Program with skills to proactively mitigate PTSI; and (5) assess the impact of the augmented training condition (ATC) versus the standard training condition (STC). Participants in the STC (n = 480) and ATC (n = 480) are assessed before and after training and annually for 5 years on their deployment date; they also complete brief monthly and daily surveys. The RCMP Study results are expected to benefit the mental health of all participants, RCMP and PSP by reducing PTSI among all who serve.

Is this discursive Yentling? A critical study of an RCMP officer’s interaction with a child sexual assault complainant

ABSTRACT The present study features an interview between a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer and a female indigenous minor, who was reporting her own sexual assault. The study highlights how the child's interview with the officer appears to include gender-specific judgements. Thus far, few critical studies, underscoring interview techniques, feature power relations and ideologies in the discourse. This study identifies police negotiation with female assault complainants as discursive Yentling. Inspired by the term Yentl syndrome, where female health is often underappreciated because it is judged from male prerogatives, the present study proposes that discursive Yentling emerges from victim blaming, perpetrator mitigation, and the sexualization of rape. Drawing attention to transcripts of an RCMP interview with a child complainant, this study asks (1) what power relations and ideologies manifest in the dialogue between the officer and the complainant? (2) Do the findings give evidence for discursive Yentling? Transitivity analysis and a discourse historical approach reveal ideological predispositions towards the complainant during the interview. The implications for this study hopefully provoke more considered police interview techniques for potential victims of sexual assault and inculcate a culture of feminist understanding in Canadian public services.

“Putting Down and Letting Go”: An Exploration of a Community-Based Trauma-Oriented Retreat Program for Military Personnel, Veterans, and RCMP

(1) Background: Current military members, veterans, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) experience higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury (MI). Trauma-oriented retreats have been offered as a means of addressing these concerns. This article aims to explore the impact of a non-evidence-based trauma-oriented retreat for the above populations experiencing PTSD or MI; (2) Methods: This qualitative study, nested within the larger mixed-methods pre/post longitudinal follow-up study, examined the experiences of 124 military members, veterans, and RCMP who participated in the retreat. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and first-hand observations of the organization. Analysis was conducted using thematic analysis while being informed by realist evaluation principles; (3) Results: The results showed that important contextual elements were related to participants being ready, having multiple comorbidities and using the program as a first or last resort. Effectual mechanisms included a home-like setting; immersion; credibility of facilitators; experiential learning; an holistic approach; letting go, and reconnecting to self. Outcomes included: re-finding self, symptom management, social connection, and hope for a meaningful life. The gendered analysis suggested less favorable results; (4) Conclusions: Care is warranted as the evidence-base and effectiveness of trauma-oriented retreats yet needs to be established prior to broad use.

Repairing the Relationship between Law Enforcement and the Public

On November 25, 2021, Commissioner Brenda Lucki of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), presented Repairing the Relationship between Law Enforcement and the Public at the 2021 CASIS Vancouver West Coast Security Conference. The primary focus of Commissioner Lucki’s presentation was the law enforcement agency’s initiative and pathways to re-earn the public’s trust and strengthen bonds. The presentation was followed by a question and answer period with questions from the audience and CASIS Vancouver executives.

Therapy dogs, stress-reduction, and well-being within the detachment: Interviews with law-enforcement personnel

Abstract Despite the increasing popularity of canine-assisted interventions (CAIs) across a variety of contexts, and the demonstrated efficacy they have on stress reduction, there is a paucity of research exploring the implementation of such programs within the context of law enforcement. Policing is known to be an environment in which personnel experience elevated occupational stress. As stress can compromise the overall well-being of law-enforcement personnel and their ability to serve the public, it is important to understand how CAIs involving therapy dog visitation are experienced by the very individuals for whom they are intended to help. This qualitative study explored Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) members’ experiences of stress within a detachment and their perceptions of a CAI integrated within their workplace to support their well-being. Eight RCMP members (75% female, Mage = 49.21, SD = 6.12) from an urban RCMP detachment situated in the downtown core of a small city were interviewed. The interview focused on topics including members’ experiences of stress within the workplace, their perceptions of the effects of stress, resources and sources of support, and their experiences participating in a weekly CAI within their detachment. Results indicated that organizational stressors were identified more often than operational stressors; that members most commonly reported that stress rendered them more irritable and impacted their sleep, and that the most commonly reported coping mechanism and resource are exercise and medical services, respectively. In discussing the CAI, participants were overwhelmingly positive in their experiences of the program, and demonstrated support for having CAIs within the detachment setting. Discussion of the impact of the sessions demonstrated that participants found that the program served as a break from work, relieved their stress, improved their mood, and helped them to change perspectives. Participants also identified the role of the dogs within the program, which included their role as a social being. The findings from the current study contribute to better understanding of the lived experiences of stress within RCMP members and of CAIs within an applied setting.

The Political Economy of Corporate Bribery: SNC-Lavalin Group as a Case Study

In 2013, the World Bank suspended financing for the construction of the Padma Multi-Purpose Bridge in Bangladesh following allegations of massive payoffs from SNC-Lavalin Group (Canada) to several Bangladeshi officials and politicians. This resulted in the arrest of a major SNC-Lavalin employee in Switzerland, who pled guilty and co-operated with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Canada. This article examines the intricacies of the corruption allegations against SNC-Lavalin in Canada. There are suggestions of a toxic corporate culture historically noted by Sutherland (1949, 1983). As well, a criminal action was commenced against the corporation, which lead to extensive political fallout and a guilty plea. Both the outcome of this prosecution and its theoretical implications raise important questions about on the role of structural pressures and “holes” in global capital markets. Here, we invoke Quinney’s (2002) analysis of capital, Chambliss’ (1994) notion of law and markets, and Merton’s (1957) theory of organizational strain.