Review of the RCMP's Public Complaint Records
Division Reports: 2008
V-Nunavut
Complaints Received
The Commission received 16 complaint dispositions from "V" Division of which 11 (69%) were lodged with the Commission, while 5 (31%) were lodged with the RCMP.
The complaint dispositions were further examined at the detachment level. The detachment that was most often mentioned in the complaint dispositions was the Iqaluit Detachment with five (5) complaints representing 31% of the total complaints. Four (4) of the complaints were lodged with the Commission (80%), while one (1) was lodged with the RCMP (20%).
"V" Division: Number of Complaints Based on the Organization it Was Lodged With
The average number of members named in the complaints for "V" Division was 1.6 with the rank of constable (77%) being the most common rank followed by the rank of corporal (12%).
"V" Division: Number of Complaints by Member Rank
Allegations
A total of 35 allegations were made against members in "V" Division, which averaged about 2.2 allegations per complaint. The most common allegations were "Neglect of Duty" (20%) and "Statutory Offence" (20%). Allegations were also examined at the detachment level. For the Iqaluit Detachment, the results indicate that the most common allegation was "Neglect of Duty" (67%).
"V" 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 most common issue that the Commission identified in complaints from "V" Division was "Attitude" (14%), followed by "Arrest" (10%), "Service" (8%) and "Police Physical Abuse" (8%).
"V" Division: Commission-Identified Issues
| Issue |
Number of Complaints |
% |
| Aboriginal community |
1 |
2% |
| Alcohol or Drugs (not intoxication) |
1 |
2% |
| Arrest |
5 |
10% |
| Attitude |
7 |
14% |
| Care in Custody |
2 |
4% |
| Civil Disputes/No Child |
1 |
2% |
| Criminal Investigation Quality (RCMP) |
1 |
2% |
| Detention |
4 |
8% |
| Entry of Premises |
3 |
6% |
| Intoxication |
3 |
6% |
| Medical Care |
3 |
6% |
| Mental Illness |
1 |
2% |
| Police Physical Abuse |
4 |
8% |
| Property Mishandling |
1 |
2% |
| Right to Counsel |
1 |
2% |
| Search |
3 |
6% |
| Seizure |
1 |
2% |
| Service |
4 |
8% |
| Spousal Abuse Response |
1 |
2% |
| Vehicular Incidents |
2 |
4% |
| Total |
49 |
|
Trends in the issues were also identified by detachment. For the Iqaluit Detachment, the most common issue identified in the complaints was "Attitude" (25%).
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:
- For allegations of "Neglect of Duty" the key issues were "Detention" (20%), "Care in Custody" (12%), "Arrest" (12%) and "Service" (12%).
- For allegations of "Statutory Offence" the key issue was "Police Physical Abuse" (18%).
Disposition of Complaints114
"V" Division: Number of Complaints by Disposition Type
Investigation and Final Report
Of the complaint dispositions the Commission received, nine (9) (56%) were formally investigated and a Final Report issued. These reports made determinations on 27 allegations, the most likely of which were "Improper Persons/Vehicles Search" and "Statutory Offence". The results show the RCMP supported the allegations in 33% of the time which is significantly higher than the force-wide average of 10%.
Informal Resolutions
Informal resolutions occurred in 25% of the cases, a decrease from 41% in 2007. This disposition type dealt with five (5) allegations. The allegation most likely to be informally resolved was "Improper Attitude".
Withdrawals
In 19% of the cases, the complainant withdrew the complaint, which disposed of three (3) allegations. The most likely of these allegations was "Improper Attitude".
Terminations (Notice of Direction)
In 2008, the Commission did not receive any Notices of Direction from "V" Division.
Service Standards: Complaint Processing Time115
In 2008, "V" Division, on average, took 97 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged, which is slightly less than the RCMP national average of 103 days. This is similar to "V" Division's average of 92 days in 2007. The average number of days to issue a disposition was 113 for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to 64 days for RCMP-lodged complaints.
Further, on average, it took 81 days for a complainant to lodge a complaint in 2008. On average, complainants waited 114116 days after the incident took place before lodging a complaint with the Commission, while complaints lodged with the RCMP averaged nine (9) days after the incident.
"V" 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 74 for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to the 116 days it took for RCMP-lodged complaints. This is in contrast to 2007, when it took, on average, 182 days for Commission-lodged complaints and 153 days for RCMP-lodged complaints.
Complaint processing times were analyzed for the Iqaluit Detachment. It took on average 134 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. Typically, complainants waited 116 days after the incident date to lodge the original complaint.
Complaint timelines were also determined by disposition type:
- To issue a Final Report it took, on average, 149 days. For these cases, it took, on average, 112 days for a complainant to lodge the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- To issue a withdrawal it took an average of 64 days to issue a disposition. For these cases, it took, on average, 91 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, six (6) days. For these cases, it took, on average, four (4) days for a complainant to lodge the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
"V" Division: Number of Days to Issue the Disposition by Disposition Type
Complaint timelines were also determined by allegation type. For the two most common types of allegations, timelines are reported.
- For allegations of "Neglect of Duty", on average, it took 196 days for a disposition to be issued. Complainants, on average, lodged the original complaint 154 days after the incident date for this type of allegation.
- For allegations of "Statutory Offence", it took, on average, 94 days for a disposition to be issued once a complaint was lodged. On average, complainants waited nine (9) days to lodge the original complaint with this type of allegation.
114 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.
115 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.
116 The range for this average was 0 to 366 days. 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.