Review of the RCMP's Public Complaint Records
Division Reports: 2008
F-Saskatchewan
Complaints Received
The Commission received 166 complaint dispositions of which 59% were lodged with the Commission, 39% were lodged with the RCMP and 2% were lodged with the FSIN.
"F" Division: Number of Complaints Based on the Organization it Was Lodged With
In analyzing the two detachments identified most often in complaints, it was found that:
- For the North Battleford Detachment, six (6) of the complaints were lodged with the Commission (55%), and five (5) were lodged with the RCMP (45%).
- For the Kamsack Detachment, three (3) of the complaints were lodged with the Commission (38%), one (1) was lodged with the FSIN (13%) and four (4) were lodged with the RCMP (50%).
The average number of members named in the complaints for "F" Division was 1.5, with the rank of constable being represented most often (71%) followed by the rank of corporal (11%) and sergeant (9%).
"F" Division: Number of Complaints by Member Rank
Allegations
A total of 365 allegations were made against members in "F" Division, which averaged about 2.2 allegations per complaint. The three most common allegations were "Neglect of Duty" (27%), "Improper Attitude" (25%), and "Irregularity in Procedure" (12%).
"F" Division: Allegations Breakdown
Allegations were also examined at the detachment level:
- For the North Battleford Detachment, the results indicated that the most common allegations were "Improper Use of Force" at 37% followed by "Improper Attitude" at 26%.
- For the Kamsack Detachment, the results indicated that the most common allegations were "Neglect of Duty" and "Oppressive Conduct" both at 32%.
"F" Division: Allegations for FSIN-Lodged Complaints
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 "F" Division were "Attitude" (15%), "Service" (11%), "Arrest" (8%), "Criminal Investigation Quality (RCMP)" (7%) and "Vehicular Incidents" (7%).
"F" Division: Commission-Identified Issues
| Issue |
Number of Complaints |
% |
| Aboriginal community |
20 |
4% |
| Abusive Language |
8 |
2% |
| Alcohol or Drugs (not intoxication) |
10 |
2% |
| Arrest |
38 |
8% |
| Attitude |
69 |
15% |
| Care in Custody |
11 |
2% |
| Chemical Irritant |
2 |
0% |
| Child Abuse Response |
5 |
1% |
| Child Custody |
4 |
1% |
| Civil Disputes/No Child |
4 |
1% |
| Conflict of Interest |
6 |
1% |
| Criminal Investigation Quality (RCMP) |
35 |
7% |
| Detention |
17 |
4% |
| Entry of Premises |
11 |
2% |
| Informants/Sources |
3 |
1% |
| Intoxication |
14 |
3% |
| Lethal Weapons |
2 |
0% |
| Lying under Oath |
3 |
1% |
| Medical Care |
5 |
1% |
| Mental Illness |
1 |
0% |
| Non-custody Deaths |
1 |
0% |
| Non-lethal weapons other than chemical irritants |
3 |
1% |
| Non-pursuit Police Driving |
1 |
0% |
| Non-spousal, Non-child Assault Response |
9 |
2% |
| Non-spousal, Non-child Sexual Assault Response |
1 |
0% |
| Note-taking Quality |
1 |
0% |
| Police Dogs |
1 |
0% |
| Police Physical Abuse |
20 |
4% |
| Police Pursuit Driving |
1 |
0% |
| Policy |
5 |
1% |
| Property Mishandling |
8 |
2% |
| Public Complaint Process Quality (RCMP) |
5 |
1% |
| Release/Disclosure of Information |
7 |
1% |
| Restraints |
2 |
0% |
| Right to Counsel |
2 |
0% |
| Search |
22 |
5% |
| Seizure |
5 |
1% |
| Service |
51 |
11% |
| Spousal Abuse Response |
3 |
1% |
| Vehicular Incidents |
32 |
7% |
| Youth Interaction With RCMP |
15 |
3% |
| Youth Involvement |
4 |
1% |
| Total |
467 |
|
Disposition of Complaints87
"F" Division: Number of Complaints by Disposition Type
Investigation and Final Report
Of the complaint dispositions the Commission received from "F" Division, 46 (28%) were formally investigated and a Final Report by the RCMP issued. These reports made determinations on 154 allegations, with the most likely allegations being "Statutory Offence" and "Improper Use of Force".
For all allegations, the majority of the RCMP's findings did not support the complainant's allegation(s) (81-100%). Overall, only 17 allegations were found to be supported (12%). With respect to serious allegations ("Improper Use of Force", and "Statutory Offence") the RCMP supported one (1) of the 26 allegations made or 3.8% of those kinds of allegations.
Informal Resolutions
Accounting for the most common way in this division to dispose of a complaint, informal resolutions occurred in 73 (44%) cases. The percentage of dispositions that resulted in informal resolutions in "F" Division was 10 percentage points higher than the Force-wide percentage of 34%. Informal resolution disposed of 115 allegations, which were most likely to be related to "Improper Attitude" and "Mishandling of Property".
Withdrawals
In 17% of the cases, the complainant withdrew the complaint. This disposition type disposed of 55 allegations, the most likely of which was "Irregularity in Procedure".
Terminations (Notice of Direction)88
In 11% of all public complaints received from "F" Division a Notice of Direction was issued. In one (1) of the 19 complaints that were terminated (5%), the termination paragraph was not specified in the Notice of Direction. Termination paragraph (c) was most often invoked (58%). Notices of Direction disposed of 41 allegations, the most likely of which was "Mishandling of Property".
"F" Division: Number of Terminated Complaints by Grounds Identified in subsection 45.36(5) of the RCMP Act
Service Standards: Complaint Processing Time89
In 2008, "F" Division, on average, took 99 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. This is in comparison to the RCMP national average of 103 days and represents a significant improvement from 137 days in 2007. The average number of days to issue a disposition was 109 for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to 83 days for RCMP-lodged complaints. For complaints lodged with the FSIN, it took an average of 92 days to issue a disposition.
It typically took complainants 359 days after the incident date to lodge a complaint. On average, complainants waited 336 days after the incident took place before lodging a complaint with the Commission, while complaints lodged with the RCMP averaged 314 days after the incident. Complainants, on average, took 1,61690 days after the incident date to lodge a complaint with the FSIN.
"F" 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 48 for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to the 43 days it took for RCMP-lodged complaints. For complaints lodged with the FSIN, it took 90 days for the Commission to receive a copy of the disposition.
Complaint processing times were analyzed for the two detachments identified most often in complaint dispositions:
- The North Battleford Detachment took 126 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. On average, it took complainants only 52 days after the incident date to lodge the original complaint.
- The Kamsack Detachment took an average of 108 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. Complainants, on average, lodged the original complaint 873 days after the incident date.
Complaint timelines were also determined by disposition type:
- To issue a Final Report it took, on average, 186 days. For these cases, it took, on average, 275 days for a complainant to lodge the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- To enter into an informal resolution it took, on average, 59 days. For these cases, it took, on average, 65 days for a complainant to lodge the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- For a complainant to withdraw a complaint it took, on average, 67 days. For these cases, it took, on average, 233 days for a complainant to lodge a complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- To issue a Notice of Direction it took, on average, 83 days. For these cases, it took, on average, 1,861 days for a complainant to lodge the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
"F" 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.
- Allegations of "Neglect of Duty" took, on average, 115 days for a disposition to be issued once a complaint was lodged. On average, complainants waited 393 days to lodge the original complaint for this type of allegation.
- Allegations of "Improper Attitude", on average, took 94 days for a disposition to be issued. Complainants, on average, lodged the original complaint 502 days after the incident date for this type of allegation.
- Allegations of "Irregularity in Procedure", on average, took 147 days for a disposition to be issued. On average, complainants waited 290 days after the incident date to lodge the original complaint for this type of allegation.
It is interesting to note that within "F" Division complaints involving "Statutory Offence" allegations, on average, took the longest time (193 days) to issue dispositions.
87 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.
88 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.
89 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.
90 The range for this average was 7 to 6,253 days. One case related to an incident from 1991 which contributed to the average being skewed.