Review of the RCMP's Public Complaint Records
Division Reports
V-Nunavut
Complaints Received
The Commission received 17 complaint dispositions from "V" Division of which 11 (65%) were lodged with the Commission, while 6 (35%) were lodged with the RCMP.
"V" Division: Number of Complaints Based on the Organization it Was Lodged With
The complaint dispositions were further examined at the detachment level. The detachments that were most often mentioned in the complaint dispositions were Gjoa Haven Detachment (24%), followed by the Rankin Inlet Detachment (18%). In comparing the two detachments, it was found that for the Gjoa Haven Detachment, 2 (50%) of the complaints were lodged with the RCMP, and 2 (50%) were also lodged with the Commission. For the Rankin Inlet Detachment, 2 (67%) of the complaints were lodged with the RCMP, while 1 (33%) was lodged with the Commission.
The average number of members named in the complaints for "V" Division was 1.4 with the rank of constable (59%) being the most commonly rank followed by the rank of corporal (29%).
"V" Division: Number of Complaints by Member Rank
Allegations
A total of 35 allegations were made against members in "V" Division, which averaged about 2.1 allegations per complaint. The most common allegations were "Improper Use of Force" (29%), "Neglect of Duty" (14%), "Improper Attitude" (11%) and "Improper Arrest" (11%).
"V" Division: Allegations Breakdown
Allegations were also examined at the detachment level. For the Gjoa Haven Detachment, the results indicate that the most common allegations were "Improper Use of Force" (29%) and "Improper Arrest" (29%). The frequencies of allegations from the Rankin Inlet Detachment were not meaningful enough to report trends.
In "V" Division RCMP, the most common allegation against constables was "Improper Use of Force" (36%), followed by "Improper Attitude" (14%), "Irregularity in Procedure" (14%), "Neglect of Duty" (14%) and "Improper Arrest" (14%). For the rank of corporal, the most common allegation was also "Improper Use of Force" (36%), then "Neglect of Duty" (18%) and "Improper Search of Premises" (18%).
For every complaint disposition received, the Commission analyzed the reason and incident details in order to identify issues related to the nature of the complaint. By cross-referencing these issues with the RCMP allegations, the Commission was able to identify key issues that come up for each allegation. The most common issue that the Commission identified in complaints from "V" Division was "Police Physical Abuse" (15%), followed by "Arrest" (12%) and "Attitude" (12%).
"V" Division: Commission-Identified Issues
| Issue |
Number of Complaints |
% |
| Arrest |
4 |
11.8% |
| Attitude |
4 |
11.8% |
| Care in Custody |
1 |
2.9% |
| Chemical Irritant |
1 |
2.9% |
| Criminal Investigation Quality (RCMP) |
1 |
2.9% |
| Detention |
1 |
2.9% |
| Entry of Premises |
3 |
8.8% |
| Impairment |
3 |
8.8% |
| Medical Care |
1 |
2.9% |
| Non-spousal, Non-child Assault Response |
1 |
2.9% |
| Police Physical Abuse |
5 |
14.7% |
| Release/Disclosure of Information |
1 |
2.9% |
| Restraints |
1 |
2.9% |
| Search |
2 |
5.9% |
| Service |
3 |
8.8% |
| Vehicular Incidents |
2 |
5.9% |
| Total |
34 |
|
Trends in the issues were also identified by detachment. For the Gjoa Haven Detachment, the most common issue identified in the complaints was "Vehicular Incidents" (29%). Trends in the issues could not be identified for the Rankin Inlet Detachment because only two issues were identified in the complaints.
Further, the results revealed trends in the issues for each allegation. For the purpose of this analysis, the common issues will be reported for the most frequently occurring allegations: "Improper Use of Force", "Neglect of Duty", "Improper Attitude" and "Improper Arrest".
- For allegations of "Improper Use of Force" the key issues were "Police Physical Abuse", "Arrest," "Care in Custody", "Impairment" and "Service".
- For allegations of "Neglect of Duty" the key issues were "Arrest" (17%), "Care in Custody" (17%), "Police Physical Abuse" (17%) and "Service" (17%).
- For allegations of "Improper Attitude" the key issue was "Attitude" (80%).
- For allegations of "Improper Arrest" there were no significant results.
Disposition of Complaints
"V" Division: Number of Complaints by Disposition Type
Investigation and Final Report
Of the complaint dispositions the Commission received from "V" Division RCMP, 5 (29%) were formally investigated and a Final Report issued by the RCMP. These reports made determinations on 13 allegations, the most common of which was "Improper Search of Premises". The results show that all of the RCMP's findings in the Final Report did not support any of the complainant's allegations.
Informal Resolutions
Accounting for the most common way to dispose of a complaint, informal resolutions occurred in 41% of the cases, disposing of 15 allegations. The most common allegation to be informally resolved was "Improper Use of Force"; in 40% of the cases this allegation was resolved in this manner. This is not only significantly above the Force wide average but also raised concern within the Commission that these types of allegations are being informally resolved too frequently.
At the detachment level, informal resolutions accounted for:
- 3 out of the 4 complaint dispositions received from the Gjoa Haven Detachment (75%); and
- 2 out of the 3 complaint dispositions received from the Rankin Inlet Detachment (67%).
Withdrawals
In 29% of the cases, the complainant withdrew the complaint, which disposed of 7 allegations. The most common of these allegations was "Improper Use of Force".
Allegations of "Improper Use of Force" accounted for 40% of the withdrawals for this time period, which is not only significantly above the Force-wide average, but also raised concern within the Commission that these types of allegations are being informally resolved too often.
Terminations (Notice of Direction)69
In 2007, the Commission did not receive any Notice of Directions from "V" Division.
Service Standards: Complaint Processing Time
In 2007 "V" Division, on average, took 92 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged (range: 1 to 333 days). This is in comparison to the RCMP national average of 114 days to issues a disposition once a complaint was lodged (range: 0 to 447 days). It typically took just over one month (39 days) for a complainant to lodge a complaint (range: 0 to 199 days).
"V" Division: Complaint Timeline by Organization it Was Lodged With
The average number of days to issue a disposition was 127 for Commission-lodged complaints (range: 28 to 333 days) as opposed to 28 days for RCMP-lodged complaints (range: 1 to 60 days). On average, complainants waited 35 days after the incident took place before lodging a complaint with the Commission (range: 0 to 175 days), while complaints lodged with the RCMP averaged 47 days after the incident (range: 0 to 199 days).70
Independent of the public complaint processing timelines, the Review of the Record Project required the RCMP to provide the Commission copies of all dispositions for its analyses. To that end, the average number of days for the Commission to receive the complaint disposition from this division was 182 for Commission-lodged complaints (range: 11 to 365 days) as opposed to the 153 days it took for RCMP-lodged complaints (range: 113 to 224 days).
Complaint processing times were analyzed for each of the two detachments that were identified most often in the public complaints:
- The Gjoa Haven Detachment took on average 65 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged (range: 17 to 104 days). Typically, complainants waited close to two months (54 days) after the incident date to lodge the original complaint (range: 4 to 175 days).
- The Rankin Inlet Detachment took on average 18 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged (range: 1 to 47 days). Complainants, on average, lodged a complaint 69 days after the incident date (range: 0 to 199 days).
Complaint timelines were also determined by disposition type:
- To issue a Final Report by the RCMP it took 179 days (range: 60 to 333 days). For these cases, it generally took 17 days to elapse before a complainant lodged the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition (range: 5 to 54 days).
- To issue a withdrawal it took an average of 67 days to issue a disposition (range; 1 to 174 days). For these cases, it generally took 64 days to elapse before a complainant lodged the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition (range: 0 to 199 days).
- To enter into an informal resolution it took 48 days (range: 5 to 104 days). For these cases, it generally took 37 days to elapse before a complainant lodged the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition (range: 0 to 175 days).
"V" Division: Number of Days to Issue the Disposition by Disposition Type
Complaint timelines were also determined by allegation type. For the four common types of allegations, i.e. "Improper Use of Force", "Neglect of Duty", "Improper Attitude" and "Improper Arrest", timelines are reported.
- For allegations of "Improper Use of Force", on average, it took 138 days for a disposition to be issued (range: 28 to 333 days). Typically, complainants waited 27 days after the incident date to lodge the original complaint (range: 4 to 69 days) for this type of allegation.
- For allegations of "Neglect of Duty", on average, it took 40 days for a disposition to be issued (range: 1 to 87 days). Complainants, on average, lodged the original complaint 64 days after the incident date (range: 0 to 199 days) for this type of allegation.
- For allegations of "Improper Attitude", it typically took 40 days for a disposition to be issued once a complaint was lodged (range: 5 to 78 days). On average, complainants waited 52 days to lodge the original complaint (range: 0 to 175 days) with this type of allegation.
- For allegations of "Improper Arrest", it took the RCMP an average of 119 days for a disposition to be issued (range: 104 to 133 days). Complainants, on average, waited one week (7 days) after the incident date to lodge the original complaint (range: 4 to 10 days) with this type of allegation.
It is interesting to note that within "V" Division complaints involving "Improper Persons/Vehicles Search" allegations, on average, took the longest time (148 days) to issue dispositions.
69 The RCMP may decide to terminate a complaint under three strict grounds provided for in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection 45.36(5) of the RCMP Act. These paragraphs are:
- the complaint is one that could more appropriately be dealt with, initially or completely, according to a procedure provided under any other Act of Parliament;
- the complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious or made in bad faith; and
- having regard to all the circumstances, investigation or further investigation is not necessary or reasonably practicable.
70 While the reasons for this delay is not yet fully understood, some preliminary analysis of the data suggests that complainants wait extended periods of time to lodge complaints with the Commission because: 1) the types of allegations that are lodged with the Commission tend to be more serious in nature than those lodged with the RCMP; 2) the complainant may not have immediate access to the public complaint system; 3) the complaint may be historical in that an incident occurred many years (in some cases decades) before a formal complaint is lodged; and 4) alternate ways of resolving the complaint may have been attempted before a formal complaint was lodged.