Review of the RCMP's Public Complaint Records
Review of the Record Report: 2007 – Force-Wide and Regional: Updated
The Commission received 1,861 completed complaint dispositions from the RCMP relating to complaints lodged in 2007. The RCMP estimated that 2,500 complaints had been lodged in 2007; leaving over 600 complaints still outstanding from this time period.
The Pacific Region had the most complaints (834) representing 45% of the total, while the Northwest Region had 689 (38%), the Central Region had 62 (3%), and the Atlantic Region had 267 (14%).
Number of Complaints by Region
Of those complaints, 1,098 were lodged with the Commission (59%) while 750 were lodged with the RCMP (40%), and 13 were lodged with other organizations (0.7%).56
Number of Complaints Based on the Organizations it Was Lodged With
From a regional perspective, complainants in the Pacific Region appeared to favour lodging complaints with the Commission (68%). Only 32% within this region were lodged with the RCMP. Complaints originating from the Atlantic, Central, and Northwest Regions were split relatively evenly between those lodged with the Commission and the RCMP. For the Northwest Region, 52% of the complaints were lodged with the Commission, compared to 46% with the RCMP, and 2% with other organizations.57 In the Central Region, 52% were lodged with the Commission and 48% were lodged with the RCMP. For the Atlantic Region, 49% were lodged with the Commission and 51% were lodged with the RCMP.
Regional Breakdown – Number of Complaints Based on the Organization it Was Lodged With
In 2007, the Commission received 102 of these complaints; the region most likely to have complaints against a whole detachment was the Atlantic Region, which represented 9% of their total complaints. A further eight (8) separate complaints were against the RCMP in general, three (3) of which originated from "A" Division.
The average number of members named in a complaint was 1.5. Given that most front-line policing within the RCMP is done by constables and corporals, it is not surprising that constables were represented in 71% of the total complaints. The rank of corporal was represented in 13% of the public complaints and sergeants were represented in 5% of the complaints.
Allegations
A total of 4,282 allegations were made against the RCMP and its members, which averaged approximately 2.3 allegations per complaint. The most common complaint allegations as identified by the RCMP were "Neglect of Duty" (27%), "Improper Attitude" (20%) and "Improper Use of Force" (15%).
Allegations Breakdown Force-Wide
The three most common complaint allegations identified by the RCMP in the Pacific Region were "Neglect of Duty" (27%), "Improper Attitude" (21%) and "Improper Use of Force" (16%).
In the Northwest Region, the three most common complaint allegations were "Neglect of Duty" (26%), "Improper Attitude" (19%) and "Improper Use of Force" (17%).
In the Central Region the most common allegations were "Neglect of Duty" (31%), "Improper Attitude" (25%), and "Irregularity in Procedure" (16%).
In the Atlantic Region the three most common allegations were "Neglect of Duty" (31%), "Improper Attitude" (20%), and "Improper Use of Force" (11%).
The categorization of allegations can further be broken down into those complaints lodged with the Commission and those lodged with the RCMP. The allegations lodged with the Commission represent 61% of total allegations, those lodged with the RCMP represent 38%, and those lodged with other organizations represent 0.65%.58
Complaints involving allegations of "Irregularity – Evidence" (83%), "Improper Search of Premises (80%) and "Service" (74%) were most likely to be lodged with the Commission, followed closely by "Neglect of Duty" (73%). Conversely, complaints involving allegations of "Driving Irregularity" (68%) were more likely to be lodged with the RCMP.
Typically, complaint allegations such as "Improper Attitude", "Improper Use of Force", "Policy", and "Improper Persons/Vehicles Search" were evenly split between the Commission and the RCMP. Interestingly, 2% of the "Improper Use of Force" allegations were lodged with the FSIN for complaints lodged against members in Saskatchewan.
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 were "Attitude" (15%), issues with "Arrest" (10%), "Criminal Investigation Quality" (10%), and "Vehicular Incidents" (7%).
The RCMP can dispose of a complaint in one of four ways: a Final Report, a Notice of Direction (termination), Informal Resolution and accepting a withdrawal.
Number of Complaints by Disposition Type: Force-Wide
Regional Breakdown – Number of Complaints by Disposition Type
Investigation and Final Report
Of the complaint dispositions the Commission received, 921 were formally investigated and a Final Report was issued, representing 49% of the total dispositions. These reports made determinations on 2,623 allegations, with allegations of "Improper Use of Firearms", "Irregularity – Evidence", "Improper Use of Force" and "Oppressive Conduct" most likely to be disposed of in this manner.
However, when looking at the allegations that were investigated across the country, only 9% were found supported by the RCMP. For the allegation categories that were most likely to be disposed of through a Final Report by the RCMP, the RCMP did not support the allegation between 85% and 100% of the time. It is of note that among the allegations that are most likely to be unsupported by the RCMP were "Improper Use of Force" and "Statutory Offence" and that the RCMP did not support any allegations regarding "Policy" and "Irregularity – Evidence".
From a regional perspective, the Pacific Region issued a Final Report in 45% of the cases. These Final Reports made determinations on 1,070 allegations. The allegations most likely to be disposed of in this manner were "Oppressive Conduct", "Improper Use of Force", and "Irregularity in Procedure".
The Northwest Region issued a Final Report in 50% of the cases, which addressed 1,061 allegations. The allegations most likely to be disposed of in this manner were "Improper Use of Force" and "Irregularity – Evidence".
The Central Region issued a Final Report in 66% of the cases, well above the Force-wide average. These Final Reports made determinations on 72 allegations. The allegation most likely to result in an investigation and final report was "Neglect of Duty".
The Atlantic Region issued a Final Report in 60% of the cases, which dealt with 420 allegations. The allegations most likely to be disposed of in this manner were "Improper Arrest" and "Oppressive Conduct".
Informal Resolutions
Informal resolutions accounted for the second most common way to dispose of a complaint with 541 dispositions representing 29% of the 1,861 dispositions examined.60 In 2007, informal resolutions disposed of 866 allegations. Allegations relating to "Improper Attitude", "Driving Irregularity", and "Service" were most likely to be informally resolved. It is of note that 11% of these resolutions dealt with "Improper Use of Force" allegations (57 cases).
From a regional perspective the Pacific Region resolved 34% of their public complaints in this manner, which dealt with 473 allegations in total. Allegations most likely to result in an informal resolution were "Driving Irregularity" and "Service".
The Northwest Region informally resolved 29% of their public complaints, which dealt with 315 allegations in total. Allegations most likely to be resolved were "Improper Attitude" and "Service".
The Central Region informally resolved only 10% of their public complaints, well below the Force-wide average or the averages of other regions. Only five (5) total allegations were disposed of in this manner. The allegations that were informally resolved for this region were three (3) allegations of "Improper Attitude", one (1) allegation of "Driving Irregularity", and one (1) allegation of "Neglect of Duty".
The Atlantic Region informally resolved 20% of their public complaints in this manner, which dealt with 73 allegations in total. The allegation most likely to be resolved informally was "Improper Attitude".
Informal Resolution of Improper Use of Force Complaints
During the analysis of the documents related to the Review of the Record, the Commission noticed that 11% of the total informal resolutions dealt with allegations of improper use of force and that 12% of all use of force allegations resulted in an informal resolution (77 allegations). Further broken down, just over half (51%) of all allegations of improper use of force complaints that were informally resolved were disposed of in a manner that the Commission deemed inappropriate (39 allegations). Improper resolutions for use of force allegations were most likely to occur in "G" and "V" Divisions.
Withdrawals
Force-wide, complainants withdrew their public complaints in 12% of the cases, which represented 456 allegations. Allegations that were mostly likely to be withdrawn were "Mishandling of Property", "Improper Persons/Vehicles Search" and "Improper Search of Premises".
From a regional perspective, the Pacific Region disposed of 12% of its total public complaints in this manner, which addressed 232 total allegations. Allegations most likely to be withdrawn were "Improper Search of Premises", "Mishandling of Property", and "Improper Arrest".
The Northwest Region disposed of 13% of its total public complaints in this manner, which addressed 143 total allegations. Allegations most likely to be withdrawn were "Driving Irregularity", "Neglect of Duty", and "Mishandling of Property".
The Central Region disposed of only 5% of its total public complaints in this manner, which addressed three (3) total allegations. The allegations that were withdrawn were two (2) allegations of "Irregularity in Procedure" and one (1) allegation of "Neglect of Duty".
The Atlantic Region disposed of 12% of its total public complaints in this manner, which addressed 78 total allegations. Allegations most likely to be withdrawn were "Mishandling of Property" and "Improper Persons/Vehicles Search".
Terminations (Notice of Direction)
In 2007, 9% of all public complaints, representing 337 allegations, were terminated by the RCMP; the most common grounds for termination were paragraph (c), "investigation or further investigation is not necessary or reasonably practicable." The allegations that were most likely terminated were "Statutory Offence", "Service", and "Irregularity – Evidence".
Number of Terminated Complaints by Grounds Identified in subsection 45.36(5) of the RCMP Act
From a regional perspective, the Pacific Region disposed of 9% of its total public complaints through terminations, which addressed 159 total allegations. Allegations most likely to be the subject of a termination paragraph were "Statutory Offence" and "Service". The grounds for termination most likely to be identified in the Pacific Region were paragraph (c).
The Northwest Region disposed of 8% of its total public complaints through terminations, which addressed 129 allegations. Allegations most likely to be the subject of a termination paragraph were "Statutory Offence" and "Service". The grounds for termination most likely to be invoked in the Northwest Region were paragraph (c).
The Central Region disposed of 19% of its total public complaints through terminations, which addressed 16 allegations. This is far above the Force-wide average. The allegation most likely to be the subject of a termination paragraph was "Oppressive Conduct". Most often, the grounds for termination were not provided.
The Atlantic Region disposed of 8% of its total public complaints through terminations, which addressed 33 total allegations. Allegations most likely to be the subject of a termination paragraph were "Statutory Offence" and "Irregularity – Evidence". The grounds for termination most likely to be identified in the Atlantic Region were paragraph (c).
Service Standards: Processing Time61
In 2007 the RCMP took, on average, 150 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. The average number of days to issue a disposition was 156 for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to 140 days for RCMP-lodged complaints. Interestingly, on average, 219 days elapsed before a complainant lodged a complaint after the incident of concern.
Complaint Timeline By Region
In the Pacific Region, on average, 180 days elapsed before a complainant lodged the original complaint. Once the complaint was received, it took, on average, 151 days for the divisions within this region to complete a disposition.
The average number of days that elapsed before a complainant in the Northwest Region lodged the original complaint was 182. Once the complaint was received, the divisions within this region took, on average, 154 days to complete a disposition.
In the Central Region, on average, 571 days elapsed before a complainant lodged the original complaint. It is suspected that the lengthy amount of time to lodge a complaint may be linked to complainants whose issue(s) with RCMP conduct may span years or may be linked to some historical event. Once the complaint was received it took, on average, 152 days for divisions within this region to complete a disposition.
The average number of days that elapsed before a complainant in the Atlantic Region lodged the original complaint was 357 days. Once the complaint was received the divisions within this region took, on average, 135 days to complete a disposition.
After looking at these timelines in general, the Commission attempted to determine if there was a difference with respect to these averages between Commission-lodged complaints and RCMP-lodged complaints. As represented by the orange bar in Figure 26, there can be a considerable amount of time that elapses between the incident date and the date the complainant lodges the original complaint. On average, complainants waited 270 days after the incident took place before lodging the original complaint directly with the Commission, while complaints lodged with the RCMP averaged only 147 days after the incident.
The average number of days62 for the Commission to receive the complaint disposition from the RCMP as a whole was 113 days for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to the 127 days it took for RCMP-lodged complaints.
To that end, the average number of days for the Commission to receive the complaint disposition from:
- the Pacific Region, 124 days for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to 98 days for RCMP-lodged complaints;
- the Northwest Region, 118 days for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to 175 days for RCMP-lodged complaints;
- the Central Region, 66 days for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to 61 days for RCMP-lodged complaints; and
- the Atlantic Region, 62 days for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to 84 days for RCMP-lodged complaints.
Complaint Timeline – Comparison Based on Where the Complaint Was Lodged
56 Nine (9) complaints were lodged with the FSIN (0.5%), and four (4) were lodged with the Alberta Solicitor General (0.2%).
57 1.29% of complaints were lodged with the FSIN, and 0.57% with the Alberta Solicitor General.
58 Allegations lodged with the FSIN represent 0.47% of total allegations, and those lodged with the Alberta Solicitor General represent 0.19%.
59 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.
60 The percentages relating to informal resolutions and withdrawal of complaints can be deceiving. After reviewing the complete complaint records that have been provided to the Commission, the RCMP occasionally categorizes a withdrawal as an informal resolution and vice versa. Therefore, it is difficult to determine exactly how many informal resolutions and withdrawals the RCMP completes each year, as there is often a misclassification.
61 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.
62 These averages do not necessarily mean that it took the RCMP a particular amount of time to provide the complainant with the disposition; the timelines are specific to the RCMP providing the Commission with a copy of the dispositions. The averages are calculated using the date of the disposition and the date the Commission received the documents.