Review of the RCMP's Public Complaint Records
Division Reports: 2008
E-British Columbia
Complaints Received
The Commission received 785 complaint dispositions from "E" Division related to complaints lodged in 2008. Of the 785 complaint dispositions received from "E" Division, 611 (78%) of the complaints were lodged with the Commission, while 174 (22%) were lodged with the RCMP. This is a significant change from 2007, where 67% of the complaints were lodged with the Commission and 33% were lodged with the RCMP.
The complaint dispositions were further examined at the detachment level. The detachments identified most often in the complaint dispositions were the Surrey Detachment (8%), followed by the Kelowna Detachment (6%), the Coquitlam Detachment (5%), and the Kamloops Detachment (5%).
"E" Division: Number of Complaints Based on the Organization it Was Lodged With
In comparing the eight detachments, it was found that:
- For the Surrey Detachment, 61 (92%) of the complaints were lodged with the Commission, while 5 (8%) of them were lodged with the RCMP.
- For the Kelowna Detachment, 35 (73%) of the complaints were lodged with the Commission, while 13 (27%) of them were lodged with the RCMP.
- For the Coquitlam Detachment, 26 (68%) were lodged with the Commission and 12 (32%) were lodged with the RCMP.
- For the Kamloops Detachment, 25 (66%) of the complaints were lodged with the Commission and 13 (34%) were lodged with the RCMP.
The average number of members named in complaints in this division was 1.4, with constables most frequently being represented (76%), followed by corporals (12%).
"E" Division: Number of Complaints by Member Rank
Allegations
A total of 1,876 allegations were made against members, which averaged about 2.4 allegations per complaint. The three most common allegations were "Neglect of Duty" (31%), "Improper Attitude" (23%) and "Improper Use of Force" (12%).
"E" Division: Allegations Breakdown
Allegations were also examined at the detachment level:
- For the Surrey Detachment, the results indicated that the most common allegation was "Neglect of Duty" (39%), followed by "Improper Attitude" (24%) and "Oppressive Conduct" (10%).
- For the Kelowna Detachment, the results indicated that the most common allegations included "Neglect of Duty" (31%), "Irregularity in Procedure" (15%), "Improper Use of Force" (14%), and "Improper Attitude" (13%).
- For the Coquitlam Detachment, typical allegations included "Neglect of Duty" (30%), "Improper Attitude" (29%), and "Improper Use of Force" (13%).
- For the Kamloops Detachment, the most common allegations were "Neglect of Duty" (40%), "Improper Attitude" (22%), and "Irregularity in Procedure" (9%).
Allegations were further analyzed by member rank. In "E" Division, "Neglect of Duty" (32%) was the most common allegation made against constables, followed by "Improper Attitude" (23%) and "Improper Use of Force" (12%).
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 most common issues that were raised in the complaints for "E" Division were "Attitude" (15%), "Service" (12%), "Criminal Investigation Quality (RCMP)" (10%), "Vehicular Incidents" (8%) and "Arrest" (8%).
Trends in the issues were also identified by detachment:
- The main issue identified in complaints from the Surrey Detachment was "Attitude" (20%), followed by "Criminal Investigation Quality" (14%) and "Service" (11%).
- The main issue identified in complaints from the Kelowna Detachment was "Attitude" (14%), followed by "Service" (11%) and "Vehicular Incidents" (10%).
- The main issues identified for the Coquitlam Detachment were "Attitude" (18%), "Vehicular Incidents" (11%), and "Arrest" (8%).
- The main issues in complaints from the Kamloops Detachment were "Attitude" at 20% followed by "Criminal Investigation Quality (RCMP)", "Service", and "Vehicular Incidents" all at 10%.
Further, the results revealed trends in the issues for each allegation. The top three (3) will be reported on: For complaints alleging "Neglect of Duty" the key issues were "Service" (17%), "Criminal Investigation Quality (
RCMP)" (16%), and "Attitude" (11%). The main issues identified in complaints alleging "Improper Attitude" included "Attitude" (26%), and "Service" (10%). Finally, for allegations involving "Improper Use of Force" the key issues identified were "Arrest" (16%), and "Police Physical Abuse" (16%).
"E" Division: Commission-Identified Issues
| Issue |
Number of Complaints |
% |
| Aboriginal community |
25 |
1% |
| Abusive Language |
65 |
3% |
| Alcohol or Drugs (not intoxication) |
49 |
2% |
| Arrest |
192 |
8% |
| Attitude |
378 |
15% |
| Care in Custody |
23 |
1% |
| Chemical Irritant |
8 |
0% |
| Child Abuse Response |
10 |
0% |
| Child Custody |
12 |
0% |
| Civil Disputes/No Child |
36 |
1% |
| Conflict of Interest |
9 |
0% |
| Criminal Investigation Quality (RCMP) |
234 |
10% |
| Crowd Control |
1 |
0% |
| Custody Deaths |
5 |
0% |
| Detention |
63 |
3% |
| Entry of Premises |
30 |
1% |
| Informants/Sources |
9 |
0% |
| Intoxication |
92 |
4% |
| Lethal Weapons |
15 |
1% |
| Lying under Oath |
2 |
0% |
| Medical Care |
49 |
2% |
| Mental Illness |
34 |
1% |
| Non-custody Deaths |
4 |
0% |
| Non-lethal weapons other than chemical irritants |
19 |
1% |
| Non-pursuit Police Driving |
12 |
0% |
| Non-spousal, Non-child Assault Response |
51 |
2% |
| Non-spousal, Non-child Sexual Assault Response |
7 |
0% |
| Note-taking Quality |
3 |
0% |
| Police Dogs |
12 |
0% |
| Police Physical Abuse |
104 |
4% |
| Police Pursuit Driving |
5 |
0% |
| Policy |
18 |
1% |
| Property Mishandling |
48 |
2% |
| Public Complaint Process Quality (RCMP) |
15 |
1% |
| Release/Disclosure of Information |
27 |
1% |
| Restraints |
37 |
2% |
| Right to Counsel |
24 |
1% |
| Search |
77 |
3% |
| Seizure |
42 |
2% |
| Service |
304 |
12% |
| Spousal Abuse Response |
26 |
1% |
| Vehicular Incidents |
206 |
8% |
| Witness Protection Program |
1 |
0% |
| Youth Interaction With RCMP |
22 |
1% |
| Youth Involvement |
38 |
2% |
| Total |
2,443 |
|
Disposition of Complaints83
"E" Division: Number of Complaints by Disposition Type
Investigation and Final Report
Of the complaint dispositions the Commission received, 311 (40%) were formally investigated and a Final Report was issued. These reports made determinations on 930 allegations with allegations of "Improper Search of Premises" and "Improper Use of Force" being the most likely to be disposed of in this manner.
At the detachment level, Final Reports accounted for:
- 9 of the 66 dispositions received from the Surrey Detachment (14%);
- 22 of the 48 dispositions received from the Kelowna Detachment (46%);
- 36 of the 38 dispositions received from the Coquitlam Detachment (95%);
- 17 of the 38 dispositions received from the Kamloops Detachment (45%).
Most of the RCMP's findings contained in the Final Report did not support the complainant's allegation(s). For almost every type of allegation, with the exception of "Service", the overwhelming majority (85-100%) of the RCMP's findings did not support the complainant's allegation(s). However, for allegations involving "Service", two (2) of the three (3) allegations were found to be supported (67%). With respect to serious allegations ("Improper Use of Force", "Improper Use of a Firearm" and "Statutory Offence") the RCMP supported two (2) of the 153 allegations made or 1.3% of these kinds of allegations.
Informal Resolutions
Accounting for the second most common way to dispose of a complaint, informal resolutions occurred in 38% of the cases. In total, 554 allegations were informally resolved, with allegations of "Service" and "Policy" most likely to be resolved in this manner.
At the detachment level, informal resolutions accounted for:
- 18 (27%) of the dispositions from the Surrey Detachment;
- 17 (35%) of the dispositions from the Kelowna Detachment;
- 16 (42%) of the dispositions from the Kamloops Detachment;
- None of the dispositions from the Coquitlam Detachment.
Withdrawals
In 17% of the cases, the complainant withdrew the complaint. In total, 313 allegations were withdrawn, the most likely being "Improper Use of Firearms" and "Statutory Offence".
At the detachment level, withdrawals accounted for:
- 18 (27%) complaint dispositions from the Surrey Detachment;
- 9 (19%) complaint disposition from the Kelowna Detachment;
- 1 (3%) complaint disposition from the Coquitlam Detachment;
- 3 (8%) complaint dispositions from the Kamloops Detachment.
Terminations (Notice of Direction)84
In 2008, in 6% of all public complaints received from "E" Division, a Notice of Direction (termination) was issued. In 18% of the 45 cases, the termination paragraph was not specified in the Notice of Direction. Termination paragraph (c) was most often invoked (69%). In total, 79 allegations were addressed by way of a termination, with allegations of "Improper Persons/Vehicles Search" and "Oppressive Conduct" being the most likely to be subject of a termination.
At the detachment level, Notices of Direction accounted for:
- 21 (32%) dispositions received from the Surrey Detachment;
- 1 (3%) disposition received from the Coquitlam Detachment;
- 2 (5%) dispositions received from the Kamloops Detachment;
- No dispositions from the Kelowna Detachment.
"E" Division: Number of Terminated Complaints by Grounds Identified in subsection 45.36(5) of the RCMP Act
Service Standards: Complaint Processing Time85
In 2008, "E" Division, on average, took 98 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. This is in comparison to the RCMP national average of 103 days and down from 111 days in 2007. The average number of days to issue a disposition was 102 for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to 83 days for RCMP-lodged complaints.
It typically took complainants 150 days after the incident date to file a complaint. On average, complainants waited 178 days after the incident took place before lodging a complaint with the Commission, while complaints lodged with the RCMP averaged 53 days after the incident.86
"E" Division: Complaint Timeline Based on the Organization it Was Lodged With
The average number of days for the Commission to receive the complaint disposition from this division was 97 for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to the 87 days it took for RCMP-lodged complaints.
Complaint processing times were analyzed for each of the four detachments that were identified most often in the complaints.
- On average, the Surrey Detachment took 79 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. Typically, for these cases complainants waited 97 days after the incident date to lodge the original complaint.
- The Kelowna Detachment took an average of 80 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. Complainants, on average, lodged the original complaint 111 days after the incident date.
- The Coquitlam Detachment took 48 days to issue a disposition. Complainants waited an average of 147 days following the incident date to file the original complaint.
- The Kamloops Detachment, on average, took 100 days to issue a disposition following receipt of the complaint. For these cases complainants waited an average of 132 days after the incident to lodge the complaint.
Complaint timelines were also determined by disposition type:
- To issue a Final Report it typically took 136 days. In these cases, it took, on average, 223 days for a complainant to lodge the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- To capture a withdrawal it took an average of 75 days. It took, on average, 101 days for a complainant to lodge the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- To issue a Notice of Direction it typically took 69 days. It took, on average, 382 days for a complainant to lodge a complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- To enter into an informal resolution it took 72 days. In these cases, it took, on average, 60 days for a complainant to lodge the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
"E" Division: Number of Days to Issue the Disposition by Disposition Type
Complaint timelines were also determined by allegation type. For the three most common types of allegations, timelines are reported.
- For complaints involving allegations of "Neglect of Duty", on average, it took 108 days to issue a disposition. On average, complainants waited 159 days after the incident date to lodge a complaint for this type of allegation.
- For "Improper Attitude", on average, it took 95 days to issue a disposition. Complainants, on average, lodged the original complaint 71 days after the incident date for this type of allegation.
- Finally, for "Improper Use of Force" it took, on average, 131 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. On average, complainants waited 194 days to lodge a complaint for this type of allegation.
It is interesting to note that within "E" Division complaints involving "Policy" allegations, on average, took the longest time (159 days) to issue dispositions. However, given that informal resolutions accounted for 55% of all dispositions associated with the allegation type it is unclear why it took so long to dispose of these complaints.
83 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.
84 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:
- (a) 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;
- (b) the complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious or made in bad faith; and
- (c) having regard to all the circumstances, investigation or further investigation is not necessary or reasonably practicable.
85 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.
86 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.