Review of the RCMP's Public Complaint Records
Division Reports: 2008
B-Newfoundland and Labrador
Complaints Received
The Commission received 41 complaint dispositions related to complaints lodged in 2008. Of the complaint records received 20 (49%) were lodged with the RCMP, while 21 (51%) were lodged with the Commission.
The complaint dispositions were further examined at the detachment level. The detachments identified most often in the complaint dispositions included the Placentia Detachment (20%), followed by the Burin-St. Johns S/D Detachment (10%); the Glovertown and St. Johns S/Div H.Q. Detachments accounted for three (3) complaints each (7% each).
"B" Division: Number of Complaints Based on the Organization it Was Lodged With
The average number of members named in the complaints for "B" Division was 1.5 with constables (63%) being the rank most represented in the complaints followed by corporals (17%).
"B" Division: Number of Complaints by Member Rank
Allegations
A total of 86 allegations were made, which averaged about 2.1 allegations per complaint. The three most common allegations were "Neglect of Duty" (48%), "Improper Attitude" (27%) and "Improper Arrest" (8%). Allegations were also examined at the detachment level.
"B" Division: Allegations Breakdown
For the Placentia Detachment, the results indicate that the most common allegations pertained to "Neglect of Duty" (47%), and "Improper Attitude" (40%). The most common type of allegation for the Burin-St. Johns S/Div Detachment as well as the Glovertown Detachment was "Neglect of Duty" (69% and 50%). Finally, the most common type of allegation for the St. Johns S/Div. H.Q. Detachment was "Improper Attitude" (67%).
Allegations were also analyzed by disposition type. For complaints involving allegations of "Neglect of Duty", it was common for the RCMP to issue a Final Report (85%). The same was true for allegations of "Improper Attitude" (70%). Allegations of "Improper Arrest" were disposed of through a Final Report in 86% of the cases.
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 this division were "Criminal Investigation Quality (RCMP)" (18%), "Attitude" (14%), and "Service" (13%).
"B" Division: Commission-Identified Issues
| Issue |
Number of Complaints |
% |
| Abusive Language |
1 |
1% |
| Alcohol or Drugs (not intoxication) |
3 |
2% |
| Arrest |
11 |
8% |
| Attitude |
18 |
14% |
| Care in Custody |
2 |
2% |
| Child Abuse Response |
5 |
4% |
| Child Custody |
2 |
2% |
| Criminal Investigation Quality (RCMP) |
23 |
18% |
| Detention |
2 |
2% |
| Intoxication |
4 |
3% |
| Lethal Weapons |
1 |
1% |
| Medical Care |
1 |
1% |
| Mental Illness |
1 |
1% |
| Non-spousal, Non-child Assault Response |
5 |
4% |
| Police Physical Abuse |
4 |
3% |
| Property Mishandling |
2 |
2% |
| Public Complaint Process Quality (RCMP) |
3 |
2% |
| Release/Disclosure of Information |
4 |
3% |
| Right to Counsel |
1 |
1% |
| Search |
3 |
2% |
| Seizure |
1 |
1% |
| Service |
17 |
13% |
| Spousal Abuse Response |
1 |
1% |
| Vehicular Incidents |
10 |
8% |
| Youth Interaction With RCMP |
3 |
2% |
| Youth Involvement |
3 |
2% |
| Total |
131 |
|
Disposition of Complaints71
"B" Division: Number of Complaints by Disposition Type
Investigation and Final Report
Of the complaint dispositions the Commission received, 71% were formally investigated and a Final Report issued. These reports made determinations on 70 allegations with the allegation most likely being addressed in this way being "Neglect of Duty".
Of these 70 allegations, only two (2) were found to be supported (Improper Arrest) which represents 3% of the total allegations. With respect to serious allegations ("Improper Use of Force" and "Statutory Offence") the RCMP did not support any of the five (5) allegations.
Informal Resolutions
Accounting for the second most common way to dispose of a complaint, informal resolutions occurred in 12% of the cases; addressing six (6) allegations. The allegation most likely to end in an informal resolution was "Improper Attitude".
Withdrawals
In 10% of the cases, the complainant withdrew the complaint. Withdrawals disposed of six (6) allegations, the most common of which were "Improper Attitude" and "Neglect of Duty".
Terminations (Notice of Direction)72
In 2008, 7% of all the dispositions received from "B" Division received a Notice of Direction, addressing four (4) allegations. In contrast, 2007 saw a Notice of Direction issued for 20% of all the dispositions received from "B" Division.
The allegations that were terminated in 2008 were "Improper Attitude" (2), "Irregularity in Procedure" (1), and "Neglect of Duty" (1).
In two (2) of the three (3) complaint dispositions, the termination paragraph was not specified in the Notice of Direction; in the remaining case, termination paragraph (c) was identified.
"B" Division: Number of Terminated Complaints by Grounds Identified in subsection 45.36(5) of the RCMP Act
Service Standards: Complaint Processing Time73
On average, it took 107 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. This is in comparison to the RCMP national average of 103 days and a slight increase from 99 days in 2007. The average number of days to issue a disposition was 93 for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to 121 days for RCMP-lodged complaints.
It typically took 322 days to elapse before a complainant lodged the original complaint. On average, complainants waited 41774 days after the incident took place before lodging a complaint with the Commission, while complaints lodged with the RCMP averaged 222 days after the incident.
"B" 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 32 for Commission-lodged complaints as opposed to the 22 days it took for RCMP-lodged complaints.
Complaint processing times were analyzed for each of the four detachments in "B" Division with the most complaint dispositions:
- The Placentia Detachment took 109 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. On average, complainants waited 167 days after the incident took place before lodging a complaint.
- The Burin-St. Johns S/D Detachment took an average of 81 days to issue a disposition once a complaint was lodged. On average, complainants waited 187 days after the incident took place before lodging a complaint.
- The Glovertown Detachment took an average of 118 days to issue a disposition. On average, complainants waited 1,898 days after the incident took place before lodging a complaint.
- The St. Johns S/Div. H.Q. Detachment took on average 13 days to issue a disposition for a public complaint. On average, complainants waited 82 days after the incident took place before lodging a complaint.
Complaint timelines were also determined by disposition type:
- To issue a Final Report it took, on average, 129 days. For these cases, it took, on average, 250 days for a complainant to lodge the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- To issue an informal resolution it took an average of 74 days to issue a disposition. For these cases, 19 days, on average, elapsed before a complainant lodged the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- To issue a Notice of Direction it took, on average, 14 days. For these cases, it took, on average, 1,876 days for a complainant to lodge the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
- For withdrawals it took on average 57 days to complete this type of disposition. For these cases, it took, on average, 57 days to elapse before a complainant lodged the original complaint that resulted in this type of disposition.
"B" Division: Number of Days to Issue the Disposition by Disposition Type
Complaint timelines could be determined by allegation type. For the three most common types of allegations, timelines are reported:
- Allegations of "Neglect of Duty", on average, took 120 days for a disposition to be issued. Typically, complainants waited 521 days after the incident date to lodge a complaint for this type of allegation.
- Allegations of "Improper Attitude", on average, took 74 days for a disposition to be issued. Complainants, on average, lodged a complaint 54 days after the incident date for this type of allegation.
- Allegations of "Improper Arrest" took 124 days for a disposition to be issued once a complaint was lodged. On average, complainants waited 76 days to lodge a complaint for this type of allegation.
It is interesting to note that within "B" Division complaints involving "Statutory Offences" allegations, on average, took the longest time (281 days) to issue dispositions suggesting that these types of concerns might require more detailed and lengthy investigations. This interpretation is supported by the finding that complaints involving this type of allegation were issued a Final Report in all cases.
71 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.
72 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:
- 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;
- the complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious or made in bad faith; and
- having regard to all the circumstances, investigation or further investigation is not necessary or reasonably practicable.
73 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.
74 The range for this average was 0 to 5,392 days. One case related to an incident from 1994 which contributed to the average being skewed. 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. In one case, a complainant waited over 3,700 days before lodging a formal complaint with the Commission.