Katherine O´Neill (Globe and Mail) – The chairman of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission is warning that a looming deep funding cut by the federal government may hamper the agency’s ability to properly police the Mounties.
Since late 2007, the independent RCMP watchdog has been receiving an extra $3.5-million on top of its annual base budget of $5.1-million. But that temporary top-up is due to run out on March 31 and no decisions have been made on whether it will be extended.
Paul Kennedy, the commission chairman, said in an interview yesterday that the extra cash was used to build up the agency’s public profile across the country and research pressing policy issues, including taser use by the RCMP.
“I would think most Canadians I’ve come across say that’s good work, it’s good value work and we are glad you do it,” he said.
Mr. Kennedy said this particular work is essential during a time “which is sort of abounding with cynicism in terms of some police activities.”
The commission, which has 55-full-time employees, is charged with handling public complaints made against the RCMP, a multibillion organization with thousands of members.
Chris McCluskey, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan, confirmed the temporary funding will expire on March 31, but added a “process” is currently under way to consider extending it.
“There is no decision made on that whatsoever,” he said.
Mr. McCluskey said the temporary funding boost in 2007 “coincided” with then-public safety minister Stockwell Day’s request that the complaints commission conduct a study on RCMP taser use.
The call was made shortly after Robert Dziekanski, a Polish citizen, was killed during a confrontation at Vancouver airport where Mounties used a taser.
The commission’s report on taser use by the RCMP, which cost about $100,000 to research, was released last June.
In the meantime, Mr. McCluskey, said the government is currently developing a proposal to revamp and strengthen the RCMP review and complaints body.
All internal complaints investigations undertaken by the RCMP are reviewed by the commission. The amount of actual time spent by investigators and the commission on frivolous or vexatious complaints does not seem to be recorded anywhere.
I would assume that the RCMP would be happy to put all that manpower and time into police work as opposed to internal investigations.
Although you would have to have a very large and intricate system in lieu of them investigating themselves. Ontario does not even have their arms length system investigate most of the internal cases. Only those that are high profile.
So with the RCMP would you have to have one group in each police station, one group in every region, or one group in every province and territory?
The Commission received 1,440 completed complaint dispositions from the RCMP relating to complaints lodged in 2007. How many investigators would be required to handle this number Canada wide? How much more of my tax dollars are needed? But, I would rather have the cops out investigating, and have somebody else doing the non police work. Lawyers maybe? Career civil servants? Volunteers? One thing would certainly disappear, and that is the propensity for the RCMP to bully its own.
Alcan you will like this link:
http://www.cpc-cpp.gc.ca/prr/rep/sir/rr-eb/rr_eb5-eng.aspx#toc1
I love this paragraph from the site:
“The Commission is aware that some chronic complainants have lodged in excess of 40 separate complaints against some members, which would skew the numbers for that particular region and for that specific member. Such was the case with the Northwest Region where it has been identified that there were 5 members who had 6 or more complaints against them; however, this was the result of one complainant who represented 36% of all complaints in that particular division for the 2007 calendar year.”
wow 36% of all complaints against a total of 642 complaints from a province where 5000 cops work and play. Where is chicken little when you need him?
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RCMP complaint process with subpoena powers “subpoena duces tecum” with civilian oversight.
Once a complaint is made full disclosure; unedited or culled to the complainant without delay
1. Currently:
The Commission does not have the power to
direct the pace of an investigation undertaken
by the RCMP.
2. Currently:
Complaints may go on for years, unresolved,
without intense media pressure.
Review of the RCMP’s Public Complaint Records
http://www.cpc-cpp.gc.ca/prr/rep/sir/rr-eb/rr_eb3-eng.aspx#toc1
“There are several reasons for this lag time. Some complaints will naturally take a longer time to process and to issue a disposition because they are quite complex in nature. Also, there currently exists a time lag between the date the disposition is completed and the date the disposition is provided to the Commission, either due to the RCMP not providing the disposition or not completing the disposition in a timely manner. ”
3. Currently
The Commission has no subpoena powers.
4. Currently
Cops investigating cops
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Instead of asking questions like this Alcan, why do you not do a little research on the subjects beforehand? This is the link for the latest examination of complaints for 2007.
http://www.cpc-cpp.gc.ca/prr/rep/sir/rr-eb/rr_eb4-eng.aspx#toc1
Check it out as well as the website itself for further dates you want and then you may be able to answer your own questions. You seem to be able to find movie references, try some actual fact finding.
http://www.cpc-cpp.gc.ca/index-eng.aspx
And from personal experience I can tell you that you can pick up a telephone and call the Commission and they are more than happy to answer questions posed to them. They are quite open to suggestions on how to improve their service to the public, and especially on educating the public on their mission, their mandate, and various programs they have underway for keeping the RCMP accountable.
By e-mail:
org@cpc-cpp.gc.ca
By telephone:
From anywhere in Canada: 1-800-665-6878
TTY: 1-866-432-5837
By fax:
613-952-8045 (Ottawa)
604-501-4095 (Surrey)
By mail:
7337 137 Street
Suite 102
Surrey BC
V3W 1A4
Give it whirl and report back.
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I would like to know how many complaints the “RCMP Complaints Commission” has investigated since it was created in 1988 and how many charges have been laid? Also from those investigations how many prosecutions have been attained and what level of seriousness was those crimes which were reported and investigated by those officers?
Then I would like to know how many ex-RCMP officers make up those 55 officers in the RCMP Complaints department who are sent to investigate complains against their own members?
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