More than three-quarters of officers surveyed for a first-ever study of ethics in Canadian policing believe their agencies have good relations with their communities, according to a report released Tuesday.

However, front-line officers apparently don't think as highly of their relationship with senior management.

Of the officers surveyed, 48 per cent expressed dissatisfaction with ethical leadership of their senior management. That could include whether senior management explains decisions to employees, or whether employees felt top management listened to them.

The study, which started in 2009, includes a national survey with over 10,000 respondents in 31 Canadian police services. It was conducted by Carleton University professors Stephen Maguire and Lorraine Dyke, with financial support from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership.

The police surveyed ranged in rank from constable to staff sergeant. They were asked about issues such as work environment and conditions, supervision, decision-making, management and community engagement.

Maguire and his team say it is important for Canadian police agencies to spend more time communicating about their agency’s programs and expectations.

"The good news is that I found very strong indicators of professionalism already within policing practices and programs across the country," Maguire said in a release.

"Relationships with the community are strong. Where improvements need to be made, the most salient general recommendation is to improve support for and communication with the front line."

Other findings in the survey include:

• 78 per cent of front-line police officers agreed that their agency had a good relationship with the community, while 20 per cent had no opinion and two per cent disagreed.
• 68 per cent of respondents felt citizen complaints were dealt with fairly, while 12 per cent disagreed and 20 per cent offered no opinion.
• 34 per cent of those surveyed expressed concerns about whether their organization cared about their well being.

Based on the report, Maguire and his colleagues made 52 recommendations to police agencies. They urged police forces to provide more support for the front line by providing training to supervisors.

“This study provided all Canadian police agencies with valuable insights," Chief Dale McFee, the president of the CACP, said. "It underscored the importance of strengthening our commitment to ethical leadership, and showed us we need to do a better job of communicating that commitment internally to our front-line police officers."

The CACP represents 90 per cent of the police community in Canada.