RCMP rejects 90% of formal complaints

[Locutus]

OTTAWA -- The RCMP received almost 13,000 formal public complaints since 2010, but its complaints board rejected 90% of them, QMI Agency has learned.

Nine of out 13 provinces and territories have an RCMP complaint acceptance rate of below 10%, with Ontario and Quebec having the two lowest rates - 3% and 5% respectively - according to newly released RCMP documents obtained by QMI Agency.

Michael Kempa, a professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, said that while the Conservative government increased the complaint board's powers in 2013, the continued low complaint acceptance rate undermines citizens' faith in their federal police force.
Between January 2010 and Oct. 10, 2014, the RCMP received just over 24,800 complaints from across the country. The categories with the highest number of complaints were "neglect of duty" (4,341); "improper attitude" (2,204); and "improper use of force" (1,656).
Out of 24,818 complaints, only 12,407 were formal, written accusations against officers.

The force's complaint board, called the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, is an independent body created by Parliament. It decided that only 1,221 of the allegations against officers since 2010 were "supported." The board decided that 10 times that number were "unsupported."

Kempa says that the complaints board "lacks resources. Beefing up investigative resources would be good for enhancing public confidence."

The board, however, has currently more resources to investigate complaints than it ever had.

The Conservatives' overhauled some of the laws governing the federal police force in 2012 after a series of RCMP scandals triggered a crisis of confidence in the force.

The Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act became law in mid-2013 and with it the force's complaint board received the same right as a court to force witnesses to testify and to produce evidence deemed relevant by the commission.
The problem, according to Kempa, is that due to the RCMP's size - it has more than 28,000 members - as well as the vast territory the force covers, the complaint board cannot review everything.

The board only accepts the cases it knows it has the resources to investigate, he said.

Moreover, the RCMP commissioner has the right to veto requests for certain information. The board can appeal the commissioner's decision, but the RCMP itself has more money and power than its oversight board, to fight an appeal.

The provinces with the highest number of complaints against RCMP officers since 2010 were B.C. and Alberta, with 5,588 and 2,626 respectively. They are also the two provinces with the highest populations where the RCMP acts as a provincial police force.

In Quebec and Ontario, which have provincial police forces and where the RCMP has a comparatively smaller presence, complaints against officers were the lowest and third-lowest in the country, with 59 complaints in Quebec and 153 in Ontario.

QMI Agency was unable to reach the RCMP or a representative of the complaint commission for this article.



Complaints by province against RCMP officers since 2010 and complaint acceptance rate:

B.C. 5,588 formal complaints; acceptance rate 11%
Newfoundland and Labrador 200 formal complaints; acceptance rate 6%
Quebec 59 formal complaints; acceptance rate 5%
Manitoba 969 formal complaints; acceptance rate 11%
Saskatchewan 699 formal complaints; acceptance rate 6%
Nova Scotia 655 formal complaints; acceptance rate 10%
New Brunswick 736 formal complaints; acceptance rate 7%
Alberta 2,626 formal complaints; acceptance rate 10%
P.E.I. 86 formal complaints ; acceptance rate 8%
Ontario 153 formal complaints; acceptance rate 3%

RCMP rejects 90% of formal complaints | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

 

[personal touch]

the RCMP are spending alot of time responding ,investigating and dismissing political scandals,how could they possibly find time to serve the public?Ottawa is busy in making requests to the RCMP,no complaints ignored here.
The process and acceptance of complaint will depend on many factors including where one lives,gender,colour of skin,etc. Alberta has close to 50 year one party rule,this time frame has great influence on the means and methods of handling a complaint,particulary the" information handling" of the complaint.The RCMP have never used or believed the complaint system as a tool to better the service of the system may it be for the public or for their own lower rank Officers,I have many examples of this but the one which immediatly comes to mind is exampled by the Mayerthorpe 4 fallen Officers,everyone including the families,the public and the Supreme Court were manipulated by the information process which the RCMP designed to do so,the Supreme Court were more willfull blindness engaging party rather then being ignorant to the information processThe administration of the RCMP has been manipulating its members and the public for so long through the information process,all these numbers are not new,i would even say those provided numbers are high of acceptance because each detachment has different methods of responding to a public complaint.
the public has to look no further then the death of Karman Willis to know and understand the influence and attitudes of poltics on the criminal system,this is a perfect example of design of manipulation of information.The RCMP are only accountable to the poltical structure they serve as exampled by the circumstances surrounding the death of Karman Willis.
The influence of political interference on the justice system,has left prejustices in the delivery system this includes the complaint process.
The RCMP demonstrate a disregard for their own when placing a complaint, the recent lawsuit of female officers is an example of this,the female Officers attempted to go through formal means of the complaint process, this went nowhere,as general public individuals placing a complaint within the RCMP, it goes nowhere also.
We wonder why people are anti-establishment?We wonder why people take measures of their own wishes,where i live vigilanty justice is warranted,as their is little confidence from the public that the RCMP will respond correctly.

another thing the Commission for public complaints against the RCMP are useless and were designed to be a smoke screen for the complaint process,the B.C Civil Liberties suspended making referrals to this public body because of their inability to correctly handle a complaint.
I have extensive knowledge and information on the process they administer for the complaint process if anyone is interested.