Police Investigating Police – Final Public Report
8. Complete List of CPC Findings and Recommendations
CPC Key findings
Finding No. 1: What is at issue today is no longer whether civilian review is desirable, but rather, how civilian involvement in investigations can be most effective.
Finding No. 2: The very nature of conducting criminal investigations requires that police, to some extent, must be part of the solution.
Finding No. 3: RCMP policies, while voluminous, are inconsistent and do not adequately address the handling of member investigations.
Finding No. 4: The lack of national and divisional data collection-or monitoring capacity-for member investigations (combined with varied divisional RCMP record-keeping and retrieval methods on this issue) demonstrates a lack of attention being placed on member investigations.
Finding No. 5: Overall, personal knowledge of subject member for primary investigators occurred 25% of the time and 4% of primary investigators were from the same detachment as the subject member.
Finding No. 6: There was a slightly higher likelihood of primary investigators personally knowing the subject member (14%) in remote and northern postings than in other more centralized locations (12%). However, there does remain a large number of primary investigators (12%) from more centralized divisions where external assistance is more readily accessible.
Finding No. 7: Overall, in the opinion of the CPC investigators, the use of expert witnesses in the cases was appropriate.
Finding No. 8: Overall, the number of team members assigned to the 28 investigations was inadequate.
Finding No. 9: Overall, the CPC found the structure and reporting relationships of the 28 cases reviewed to be partially or entirely inappropriate (68%).
Finding No. 10: Of the 28 files that the CPC investigators reviewed, it was found that in 17 of these files, the subject member and witnesses were investigated by a lone RCMP investigator.
Finding No. 11: Overall, the section or unit tasked with member investigations (including their mandates) lack uniformity across the country.
Finding No. 12: In the 28 case files reviewed, the qualifications of the investigators varied greatly. Some had all the major crime and related courses, while others had as few as two years experience in the General Investigation Section.
Finding No. 13: Overall, it was found that the investigations conducted by the Major Crime Unit were focused and completed in a timely fashion, as they had the ability, resources and the time to conduct the investigation. This was not found to be the case when the investigation was assigned to a Detachment Commander or General Duty or GIS member whose heavy workload was not adjusted accordingly.
Finding No. 14: Of the total 28 cases reviewed, six of which involved death, an administrative review was only undertaken in four cases: two of which were member-involved shootings (Manitoba (D) & Nunavut (V) Divisions); and two of which were in-custody deaths (Saskatchewan (F) and Alberta (K) Divisions).
Finding No. 15: The CPC found that, overall, the level of response was handled partially or entirely inappropriately (68%). Key concerns related to interviews being undertaken by lone investigators as well as inconsistent referral of cases to the appropriate investigative unit.
Finding No. 16: Of the eight charges laid, three (37.5%) resulted in successful convictions, while five (62.5%) resulted in no convictions.
Finding No. 17: In cases where an immediate response was required, such as member-involved shootings and in-custody deaths, the CPC investigators found that all necessary personnel were dispatched to the incident as soon as possible and practicable.
Finding No. 18: The CPC found that most investigations were completed in a timely manner. The files that took significantly longer to complete were not due to a lack of interest but rather to the heavy workload of the investigator in addition to general hindrances encountered (court dates, difficulty locating witnesses or complainants, employee absence, etc.).
Finding No. 19: Overall, the CPC found that the RCMP investigators were free of bias and were professional and conscientious in their approach to their assignments. It was also found that most subject members and witness members cooperated with the CPC investigators and conducted themselves in a professional manner.
Finding No. 20: After an in-depth review of the randomly selected cases, it was found that in most cases, the appropriate policies were complied with. In the few cases where it was found that some aspects of the related policies were not adhered to, they were minor in nature and did not appear to have any effect on the outcome of the investigation.
CPC Recommendations
Recommendation No. 1: Overall, it is the CPC's contention that criminal investigations into members should not be treated the same as any other criminal investigation.
Recommendation No. 2: The CPC recommends that the rank of the primary investigator must be at least one rank higher than that of the subject member.
Recommendation No. 3: In order to reduce the length of time to conduct statutory investigations against RCMP members, it is recommended that member investigations be assigned to a team of (minimum) two members in a specialized investigative unit.
Recommendation No. 4: The RCMP should assign competent senior investigators with a proven track record in court who have completed the appropriate courses (e.g. sexual assault, major crime, interviewing and interrogation techniques and statement analysis); who can effectively interview witnesses with strong analytical skills.
Recommendation No. 5: Workload of members assigned to member investigations should be reassigned or adjusted to prioritize member investigations accordingly.
Recommendation No. 6: Special attention should be paid to enforce the RCMP requirement to consult with the Crown prior to laying any charges against members, given the particular need for independence and impartiality in member investigations. The RCMP should also undertake a review regarding recommendations made to the Crown in cases involving RCMP members.
Recommendation No. 7: Given the sensitivity and transparency required for member investigations, it is recommended that administrative reviews be undertaken in all cases of serious injury, sexual assault or death.
Recommendation No. 8: The RCMP should consider applying the use of the "probe"98 to lower-end investigations in all divisions.
Recommendation No. 9: The RCMP could consider recommending that the Officer in Charge of the Criminal Operations Section be the appropriate recipient of the probe report in order to determine whether or not a lower-end investigation should proceed to a statutory investigation.
Recommendation No. 10: Historical cases require expertise not typical of most investigators. It is therefore recommended that these types of cases be handled by a specialized unit at the national or regional level.
Recommendation No. 11: Policy guiding criminal investigations of RCMP members should be standardized nation wide. This would allow for the statutory investigations into RCMP members to be conducted uniformly across the country.
Recommendation No. 12: Create the position of National RCMP Member Investigation Registrar responsible to provide the CPC Chair with regular monthly reports for all member investigations undertaken for indictable offences, hybrid offences and summary convictions.
Recommendation No. 13: The RCMP should formalize a memorandum of understanding for every division across the country to ensure consistency in the referral of member investigations to an external police service.
Recommendation No. 14: The RCMP should create an Integrated Manual to specifically address procedures for investigations undertaken by the RCMP into one of its members.
Pursuant to paragraph 45.42(3)(a) of the RCMP Act, I respectfully submit my Interim Report.
Paul E. Kennedy
___________________________
Chair
98 A probe is a divisional best practice identified which is ordered when a complaint has a criminal element but may lack sufficient information to determine how to proceed. The "probe" consists of interviews with the complainant, victim and any other third-party witnesses; a review of operational files related to the complaint; and a review of members' notes and reports. This information is used to draft a report to help determine how a lower-end statutory investigation should proceed.