LEARNING FROM THE LEADERS [SOUTHERN VISITOR GETS A HEAD START FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROGRAM, THANKS TO RCMP EXPERIENCE] By: JOANNA KERR, National Communication Services

Last year when the Texas state legislature decreed that its Department of Public Safety would adopt an employee mediation program, Kevin S. Casey, a lawyer with the agency, was on the hook to deliver. With 10 years of experience working with families and communities to resolve disputes, Casey was in familiar territory. But when it came to a police organization like the Department of Public Safety, he knew he'd have to take a different approach.

"I tried to find other US state police agencies that had a program like we wanted for employee-related disputes," explains Casey. "The best approach I found was in Canada, at the RCMP. This is the leader as far as I've seen."

Spending five days in Ottawa this past May, Casey met with the RCMP's national ADR advisor, Jean-Claude Demers and several mediators like staff sergeants Ross Landry and Robert Codere. Casey also had time to talk to Associate Ethics Advisor S/Sgt Bill Maxwell, Deborah Doherty of Learning and Development Branch, Sgt Jerry Mayo of the Musical Ride, and members of Community, Contract and Aboriginal Policing Services, Internal Affairs, and the Staff Relations Program, among others.

During his visit Casey also sat in on a three-day interest-based negotiation course and joined RCMP members in learning how to get below the surface of a dispute to what motivates those involved. Casey explained the technique this way, "If I have a coffee mug and you want it, we can fight over it, but maybe you're interested in what's inside the mug and I want the mug itself for my collection. In interest-based negotiations we get a better understanding of what the parties interests are -- instead of having them argue about their positions -- and work from there."

The Texan lawyer adds, "It's remarkable that the RCMP has trained 15 per cent of its members in the interest-based negotiation model -- y'all have done a fantastic job."

With three employee mediations already under his belt back home, Casey says he's on the right track and discussions with RCMP mediators have reinforced the direction of his work. "The nice thing will be to go back and share all of this," he says. "I've already had very positive comments from participants [at the Department of Public Safety]. One of the parties even referred someone in his department to mediation. But it's still a new program and there's apprehension on everyone's part about entering this process."

Although he didn't sit in on an RCMP mediation during his stay, Casey was able to share his experiences as a mediator with resident ADR co-ordinator Claire Couture. "We have the same philosophy on how mediation should be handled," Couture points out. "The procedures he's set up in Austin are very similar. We're both learning from each other."

Heading home to Austin on the last day of his busy Canadian tour, Casey says he's been "incredibly impressed" with everything he's seen at the RCMP. "I'm hoping that by showing our agency the success of another police agency the [mediation] program will be more sellable. Once police organizations see that ADR and mediation can be an effective tool in handling employee disputes, as the RCMP has seen first-hand over the last few years, I think more and more will buy into the concept. I've seen that your Commissioner stands behind this effort and I think that's fantastic. That's what you need for a program like this to work."

The Texas Department of Public Safety has about 7,000 commissioned and non-commissioned employees. Commissioned employees include peace and police officers. Kevin S. Casey is the conflict resolution co-ordinator and head of the department's Employee Relations Office.

"If other police organizations are saying this is a good idea, then they're more likely to listen back home."

"The best approach to employee-related disputes I found was in Canada, at the RCMP. This is the leader as far as I've seen."

Claire Couture, ADR co-ordinator for the National Capital Region and Kevin Casey, a member of the Texas Department of Public Safety, share lessons learned on a visit to help move the Lone Star State towards an employee mediation program like the RCMP's.

© RCMP-GRC
adr0010.doc
July 5, 2000