RCMP Watch

More than 100 RCMP officers across Canada were found guilty of misconduct during the last two years for offences ranging from having sex in a cop car and surfing Internet porn on the job to drunk driving, sexual assault and abusing prisoners.

Records obtained by Sun Media under Access to Information reveal 106 cases where Mounties of all ranks were found guilty of misconduct since 2005. There were nine cases involving impaired driving, seven incidents of assaulting or using excessive force on a detainee, four domestic violence cases and four finds of guilty of sexual assault.

Sgt. Nathalie Deschenes, a spokesperson for the RCMP, said officers face informal or formal disciplinary action when found guilty of misconduct, ranging from a verbal or written reprimand to demotion or dismissal from the force. In some cases, an internal probe can lead to a criminal one and often two independent investigations are carried out simultaneously.

Under the RCMP’s Code of Conduct, officers are held to a high standard of conduct both on and off-duty, Deschenes said. If a Mountie is a treasurer of a community hockey league and is found to be siphoning money, that officer could face professional repercussions.

“The RCMP takes all matters of misconduct very seriously,” she said.

The documents show offenders come from all ranks, including civilian members, constables, corporals, sergeants and staff sergeants, and were posted in detachments and units across the country.

In one case in March 2006, a high-ranking inspector from New Brunswick was found guilty of sexual assault while intoxicated.

Officers were also found guilty of child abuse, fraud, using an RCMP helicopter for personal use and destroying an official document “without lawful excuse.”

Offences also included inappropriate touching of female members, using the RCMP IT systems to access pornographic websites, uttering forged drug prescriptions, engaging in sexual relations in a police vehicle and accepting benefits in the performance of duty.

Deschenes could not say if 106 guilty rulings in a two-year period is above or below average, but noted there are 22,000 employees in the RCMP.