Review of the RCMP's Public Complaint Records
Division Reports: 2008
A-National Capital Region
The Commission received 24 complaint dispositions from "A" Division, of which 13 (54%) were lodged with the Commission, while 11 (46%) were lodged with the RCMP. The vast majority of complaints (67%) identified the detachment as unknown.
"A" Division: Number of Complaints
The average number of members named in the complaints for "A" Division was 1.1; with constables (48%) being the rank most represented in the complaints.
"A" Division: Ranks Represented in Complaints
Allegations
A total of 51 allegations were made against members in "A" Division, which averaged about 2.1 allegations per complaint. The two most common allegations were "Improper Attitude" and "Oppressive Conduct" both at 22%, followed by "Neglect of Duty" and "Irregularity in Procedure" at 20%.
"A" 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 two most common issues that were raised in the complaints were "Attitude" (28%) and "Service" (18%). In 2007, the most common issues identified were "Criminal Investigation Quality" (26%) and "Attitude" (17%).
"A" Division: Commission-Identified Issues
| Issue |
Number of Complaints |
% |
| Arrest |
1 |
2% |
| Attitude |
17 |
28% |
| Conflict of Interest |
1 |
2% |
| Criminal Investigation Quality (RCMP) |
1 |
2% |
| Mental Illness |
2 |
3% |
| National Security |
1 |
2% |
| Non-pursuit Police Driving |
1 |
2% |
| Police Pursuit Driving |
2 |
3% |
| Policy |
1 |
2% |
| Public Complaint Process Quality (RCMP) |
1 |
2% |
| Release/Disclosure of Information |
3 |
5% |
| Right to Counsel |
1 |
2% |
| Search |
4 |
7% |
| Seizure |
2 |
3% |
| Service |
11 |
18% |
| Vehicular Incidents |
10 |
17% |
| Witness Protection Program |
1 |
2% |
| Total |
60 |
|
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 four most frequently occurring allegations: For complaints alleging "Improper Attitude" the most common issues were "Attitude" (46%) and "Vehicular Incidents" (29%). For allegations of "Oppressive Conduct" the key issue was "Attitude" (29%), with issues of interacting with those suffering from "mental illness" and "search" and "seizure" accounting for 14% each. The most frequent issue associated with both allegation categories of "Neglect of Duty" and "Irregularity in Procedure" was "Service" at 41% and 24% respectively.
Disposition of Complaints68
"A" Division: Number of Complaints by Disposition Type
Investigation and Final Report
Of the complaint dispositions the Commission received, 67% were formally investigated and a Final Report was issued. These reports made determinations on 37 allegations, the most common of which was "Irregularity in Procedure". Interestingly, the RCMP's findings supported only two (2) of the complainant's allegations (one [1] "Improper Attitude" and one [1] "Neglect of Duty").
Informal Resolutions
In one case (4%) the complaint was informally resolved. This complaint was related to allegations of "Improper Attitude" and "Neglect of Duty".
Withdrawals
Accounting for the second most common way to dispose of a complaint, withdrawals occurred in 21% of the cases. This is in stark contrast to 2007, when this type of disposition of a public complaint accounted for only 6% of cases. Withdrawals dealt with seven (7) allegations, the most common of which were "Improper Attitude" and "Oppressive Conduct".
Terminations (Notice of Direction)69
Eight percent (8%) of the complaint dispositions were disposed of through a Notice of Direction, which represented two (2) complaints. In one case the termination paragraph was not specified and in another the investigation was terminated under paragraph (c). These terminations addressed four (4) allegations, the most common of which was "Improper Attitude"
Service Standards: Complaint Processing Time70
On average, this division took 119 days to issue any type of disposition once a complaint was lodged. This is slightly above the RCMP national average of 103 days, but is a decrease from 137 days in 2007. It took, on average, 151 days for a complainant to lodge a complaint.
"A" Division: Complaint Timeline Based on the Organization the Complaint Was Lodged With
The average number of days to issue a disposition was 98 days for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to 142 days for RCMP-lodged complaints. In 2007, the average number of days to issue a disposition was 182 days for Commission-lodged complaints and 63 days for RCMP-lodged complaints. On average, complainants waited 181 days after the incident took place before lodging a complaint with the Commission, while complaints lodged with the RCMP averaged only 118 day after the incident.
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 39 days it took for RCMP-lodged complaints.
Complaint timelines were also determined by disposition type:
- On average, it took 151 days to issue a Final Report. For these cases, on average, 202 days elapsed before a complainant lodged the original complaint.
- On average, it took 141 days to issue a Notice of Direction. On average, it took 175 days to elapse before a complainant lodged the original complaint.
- On average, it took 35 days to complete a withdrawal. For these cases, it took, on average, 10 days to elapse before a complainant lodged the original complaint that was subsequently disposed of in this manner.
- Bearing in mind there was only one complaint that was informally resolved; it took 21 days to enter into the informal resolution. For this case, it took 29 days to elapse before a complainant lodged the original complaint that was disposed of in this manner.
"A" Division: Number of Days to Issue the Disposition by Disposition Type
Complaint timelines were also determined for the most common allegation types.
- Allegations of "Oppressive Conduct", on average, took 130 days before a disposition was issued. On average, complainants waited 161 days after the incident date to lodge a complaint for this type of allegation.
- Allegations of "Neglect of Duty" took, on average, 103 days before a disposition was issued. Complainants lodged a complaint, on average, 230 days after the incident date.
- Allegations of "Irregularity in Procedure", on average, took 126 days for a disposition to be issued. On average, complainants waited 33 days after the incident date to lodge a complaint for this type of allegation.
68 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.
69 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.
70 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.