Review of the RCMP's Public Complaint Records
Division Reports: 2008
C-Quebec
Complaints Received
The Commission received 16 complaint dispositions of which 56% were lodged with the Commission and 44% were lodged with the RCMP.
"C" Division: Number of Complaints Based on the Organization it Was Lodged With
The average number of members named in the complaints was 1.2. The most frequently occurring ranks of the subject members were constables (71%) and corporals and sergeants (12%).
"C" Division: Number of Complaints by Member Rank
Allegations
A total of 29 allegations were made, which averaged about 1.8 allegations per complaint. The three most common allegations were "Improper Attitude" (24%) and "Neglect of Duty" (24%) and "Improper Arrest" (14%).
"C" Division: Allegations Breakdown
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. The four most common issues that were raised in the complaints were "Attitude" (30%), "Criminal Investigation Quality" (12%), "Arrest" (9%) and "Property Mishandling" (9%).
"C" Division: Commission-Identified Issues
| Issue |
Number of Complaints |
% |
| Abusive Language |
1 |
3% |
| Arrest |
3 |
9% |
| Attitude |
10 |
30% |
| Conflict of Interest |
1 |
3% |
| Criminal Investigation Quality (RCMP) |
4 |
12% |
| Entry of Premises |
2 |
6% |
| Medical Care |
1 |
3% |
| Police Pursuit Driving |
1 |
3% |
| Policy |
1 |
3% |
| Property Mishandling |
3 |
9% |
| Search |
2 |
6% |
| Seizure |
2 |
6% |
| Service |
2 |
6% |
| Total |
33 |
|
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 three most frequently occurring allegations: For complaints alleging "Improper Attitude" the key issues were "Attitude" (58%), "Arrest" (17%) and "Medical Care" (17%). The main issues for "Neglect of Duty" included "Criminal Investigation Quality" (25%), "Service" (19%) and "Arrest", "Attitude" and "Conflict of Interest" each at 13%.
Disposition of Complaints75
"C" Division: Number of Complaints by Disposition Type
Investigation and Final Report
Of the complaint dispositions the Commission received, 75% were formally investigated and a Final Report issued. This percentage is significantly higher than the Force-wide average of 43%.
These reports made determinations on 21 allegations, of which three (3) were supported by the RCMP. Allegations most likely to result in a Final Report were "Improper Attitude" and "Neglect of Duty". No serious allegations were lodged with this division.
Informal Resolutions
Only one informal resolution was received from this division, which dealt with an allegation of "Driving Irregularity".
Withdrawals
None of the complaint dispositions received by the Commission from "C" Division contained a complaint withdrawal.
Terminations (Notice of Direction)76
In 2008, on average, in 19% of the dispositions received, a Notice of Direction was issued. The allegation most likely to be subject to a termination was "Irregularity in Procedure".
Service Standards: Complaint Processing Time77
On average, it took 109 days for the division to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. This is in comparison to the RCMP national average of 103 days and down from 130 days in 2007. Further broken down, the average number of days to issue a disposition was 110 for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to 108 days for RCMP-lodged complaints.
It typically took 352 days for a complainant to lodge a complaint. On average, complainants waited 389 days after the incident took place before lodging a complaint with the Commission, while complaints lodged with the RCMP averaged 304 days after the incident.78
"C" Division: Complaint Timeline Based on the Organization the Complaint Was Lodged With
The average number of days for the Commission to receive the complaint disposition from this division was 11 for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to the 17 days it took for RCMP-lodged complaints.
Complaint timelines were also determined by disposition type:
- It took, on average, 138 days to issue a Final Report. For these cases it generally took 360 days to elapse before a complainant lodged a complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- It took 12 days for a Notice of Direction to be issued. It generally took 437 days to elapse before a complainant lodged a complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- For the only informal resolution received from this division it took 53 days to enter into this type of disposition. The complaint was disposed of the same day that it was lodged.
"C" Division: Number of Days to Issue the Disposition by Disposition Type
Complaint timelines were also determined by allegation type. Timelines are reported for the three most common types of allegations:
- Allegations of "Improper Attitude", on average, took 127 days for a disposition to be issued. On average, complainants waited 12 days after the incident date to lodge a complaint.
- Allegations of "Neglect of Duty", on average, took 116 days for a disposition to be issued. Complainants lodged a complaint, on average, 577 days after the incident date.
- Allegations of "Improper Arrest", on average, took 220 days for a disposition to be issued, the longest average to issue a disposition from this division. Complainants lodged a complaint, on average, 410 days after the incident date.
It is interesting to note that within "C" Division complaints involving "Improper Arrest" allegations, on average, took the longest time (220 days) to issue dispositions
75 Within the Disposition of Complaints section, there is a further breakdown to identify in what manner allegations categories have been disposed. For each allegation category, the number of allegations disposed of through each disposition type was divided by the total number of those allegations. These numbers were then compared from one allegation category to the next with the goal of determining which allegation was most likely to be disposed of by a certain disposition type. Therefore, an allegation category was more likely to be disposed of in a certain manner if the percentage disposed of in this way was significantly higher than that of other allegations categories. "Most likely" does not mean most common.
76 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.
77 By identifying the complaint date and comparing it to the disposition date, the Commission was able to determine how many days it took the RCMP to issue a disposition for each complaint. Similarly, by comparing the complaint date to the date the incident occurred, a timeline can be established to determine how many days elapsed before a complainant lodged a public complaint against the RCMP. With respect to providing the Commission with a disposition, the date of the disposition is compared with the date the document was received at the Commission.
78 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 because: 1) the complainant may not have immediate access to the public complaint system; 2) the complaint may be historical in that an incident occurred many years (in some cases decades) before a formal complaint is lodged; and 3) alternate ways of resolving the complaint may have been attempted before a formal complaint was lodged.