ARCHIVED - Annual Report 2009-2010

Chair-initiated Complaint & Public Interest Investigation into Deaths Proximal to TASER^® Use

Ongoing concerns about the use of TASERs^® prompted a Chair-initiated complaint and public interest investigation in January 2009. Specifically, the complaint is aimed at examining relevant incidents between 2001 and 2009 to identify potential trends.

This investigation will also determine whether existing RCMP policies, procedures and guidelines are adequate.

In November 2009, the Chair expanded his complaint to include the July 2003 in-custody, TASER^®-related death of Mr. Clay Alvin Willey following a request from the Solicitor General of British Columbia.

The CPC has appointed its own independent lead civilian investigator. The investigation is ongoing and it is expected that an Interim Report will be delivered to the RCMP by summer 2010.

Review of the RCMP's Use of the Conducted Energy Weapon (TASER^®) for 2008

The CPC reviewed the RCMP's use of the TASER^® for the 2008 calendar year.

Key findings of the report indicate that RCMP members are showing greater restraint in the use of the weapon overall.

• RCMP TASER^® use declined 30% in 2008 from 2007; and
• actual TASER^® deployment declined to 51%, when withdrawn from holster, compared to 72% the previous year.

This change seems to reflect a greater use of the weapon as a deterrent, and may also reflect a greater recognition by suspects of the TASER^® along with its effects.

The RCMP announced a number of changes to its TASER^® policy on May 4, 2010. (See "Recently Implemented Recommendations" on page 12 for more on the new policy.)

To that end, the CPC is currently working with the RCMP with respect to issues of:

• member training including potential scenarios;
• reporting mechanisms; and
• policy development.

Additionally, the CPC is continuing to discuss concerns regarding TASER^® use as it relates to those who are most vulnerable and in high-risk populations.

In the fiscal year 2010-2011, the CPC will be publicly releasing its review of the RCMP's use of the TASER^® for the 2009 calendar year.

Frank Lasser

In April 2009, the Chair released his final report into the 2008 use of the TASER^® on Frank Lasser. During the incident, Mr. Lasser, a patient at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, B.C., allegedly threatened Kamloops RCMP members with a knife. Members subdued the then 82-year-old Mr. Lasser by use of a TASER^®.

The Chair determined that RCMP members acted appropriately by using the TASER^® on Mr. Lasser as a last resort to disarm him after all other attempts had failed.

Throughout this incident, Mr. Lasser's behaviour could reasonably be described as posing a threat of grievous bodily harm or death to hospital staff, police and even himself. Under the circumstances, the Chair concluded that use of the TASER^® was justified.

Inuvik Minor

The CPC investigation into a March 2007 incident, in which an RCMP member deployed the TASER^® on an unruly 15-year-old female at the Arctic Tern Young Offenders Facility in Inuvik, N.W.T., found no justification for the use of the weapon on the juvenile.

The Chair made recommendations relating to TASER^® policy and commented on systemic issues and the need for a broad review of the handling of public complaints in the North. The RCMP Commissioner agreed with the majority of the Chair's findings and recommendations but has not agreed to conduct a review of Northern issues.

Robert Dziekanski

The death of Robert Dziekanski in October 2007 at the Vancouver International Airport prompted the Chair to initiate a complaint and public interest investigation. In the report, the Chair made 23 findings and 16 recommendations aimed at improving RCMP training, policies and procedures so that such tragedies do not occur in the future. While the RCMP Commissioner has not yet provided a formal response, the RCMP, as previously noted, announced a new policy that addresses many of the CPC's concerns as they relate to the use of the TASER^®.

A full list of the CPC's recommendations and findings are available on the CPC's website.

Chair-initiated Complaint & Public Interest Investigation into Police Investigating Police

This complaint and public interest investigation to examine the issue was a critical undertaking for the CPC requiring a significant commitment of financial and human resources.

With the objective of identifying the most appropriate model for the RCMP's handling of criminal investigations into its own members (involving serious injury, sexual assault or death), the CPC:

• undertook a detailed analysis of current media, political, and academic debate on the issue to determine a baseline for discussion;
• sought public submissions on the issue to help inform the debate;
• assessed the adequacy of current RCMP policy guiding member action when investigating another member;
• reviewed a sample of 28 RCMP investigations where member actions were alleged to have resulted in serious injury, sexual assault or death between 2002 and 2007 (the appropriateness of each case was assessed against specific criteria which included: line management, level of response, timeliness, conduct, and compliance with policy); and
• researched alternate investigative models and conducted interviews with domestic and international bodies.

Key Recommendations

The CPC's final report, which was issued August 11, 2009, included a number of recommendations regarding procedural changes designed to reinforce best practices in such situations and the potential creation of dedicated investigation units. The Chair called for immediate action on the part of the RCMP to ensure that serious member-involved incidents are no longer investigated by the RCMP itself but rather by external agencies.

More specifically, the CPC called for the RCMP to implement the following processes immediately:

• A National RCMP Member Investigation Registrar should be created to coordinate both the development of national policy and the handling of member investigations. This would also address the lack of data collection or monitoring of member investigations that the CPC found during this review.
• All member investigations involving death should be referred to an external police force or provincial criminal investigative body. There should be no RCMP involvement in the process. A CPC Observer should also be present to ensure transparency.
• The process for all member investigations involving serious injury or sexual assault should be jointly determined by the CPC and the National RCMP Member Investigation Registrar to:
  • refer the investigation to an external police force or a  provincial body; or
  • deploy an RCMP HQ Critical Incident Member Investigation Team; and
  • ensure that a CPC Observer is embedded in the investigation.

It was further recommended that when created, the new RCMP review body be given the legislative mandate to:

• refer an RCMP member investigation to another police force or to another criminal investigative body in Canada;
• monitor any criminal investigation relating to a member of the RCMP; and
• undertake joint investigations with like-mandated bodies at either the provincial or municipal level.

The CPC believes that the combined mandatory and legislative changes outlined above would set a highly credible "gold standard" for criminal investigations of RCMP members.

RCMP Policy Enhancements

On February 4, 2010 the RCMP announced its new External Investigation or Review Policy. The policy incorporates a number of the CPC's recommendations (see "Recently Implemented Recommendations" on page 12 for more on the new policy).

This is an important step forward for the RCMP. The CPC would encourage the RCMP to adopt all of its recommendations and in particular create a centralized function to track and monitor these investigations.

Provision of Evidence

• In one instance, the RCMP provided items seized from the complainant, who was arrested pursuant to an immigration warrant, to U.S. authorities. The CPC decried such a practice as inconsistent with the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act and recommended the amendment of RCMP policy to address such issues.

Quality of Criminal Investigation

• One review was requested by the parents of a woman who was shot in her home and died after being found by a neighbour four days later. The RCMP had been called to the area on the night of the shooting, and the CPC found that the attending members failed to properly investigate a report that shots had been fired.

Use of Force

• In one instance, after trying to choke himself, a complainant was left naked in his cell, where he was subject to the TASER^®, hit his head purposely on a toilet seat and was subsequently placed in a restraint chair for over two hours. The CPC concluded that the length of time in the restraint chair was excessive.
• In another review involving the use of force, an individual stole a large commercial truck and led RCMP members on a dangerous vehicle pursuit down major roads and highways during the early morning rush hour. While fleeing the stolen vehicle, the individual was hit by an RCMP police dog service vehicle. The CPC concluded that while the pursuit was appropriate, review of the policy should be undertaken to ensure that safety concerns are addressed.
• In a third review, RCMP members attempted a covert takedown resulting in injury to the complainant, who was wrongly identified as a suspect. The CPC found that the members, who were in plain clothes, had failed to identify themselves and had carried out an improper arrest. It also recommended the review of RCMP policy regarding the identification of undercover officers.

Neglect of Duty

• In one instance, RCMP members decided to lodge a man appearing fairly intoxicated in cells until sober. The man went to sleep once in cells but it was later observed that he was not breathing and had no pulse, and he died shortly thereafter. The CPC concluded that the deceased had not been monitored in full compliance with policy.

Review of Policing in the North

Through its reviews, the CPC has identified potential areas of concern regarding RCMP member conduct and the public complaint process in the North.

The nature of policing in Canada's North is unique with a particular need for a strong relationship between members of the RCMP and the public.

The CPC is working at the request of the Yukon government and the RCMP to review public concerns about policing in the territory aimed at ensuring that the RCMP is responsive and accountable to the needs of Yukon citizens.

External Investigations Policy

As previously mentioned, the RCMP announced in February 2010 its new policy governing investigations where there is a serious injury or death of an individual involving an RCMP employee or where the matter is of a serious or sensitive nature.

In these cases, rather than investigating its own members the RCMP will request an external law enforcement agency or other duly authorized investigative agency to conduct the investigation.

If an independent external investigation is not feasible, the policy outlines additional requirements. These include:

• bringing in officers from a different province from where the incident occurred to conduct the investigation;
• the appointment of an independent observer; and
• providing for independent review.

If the RCMP must investigate its own members, cases will be assigned a team of at least two officers who will be screened for any actual or perceived conflict of interest.

The CPC is also encouraged by the fact that the policy limits the potential of bias by directing that the rank of the primary investigator will, whenever possible, be higher than that of the subject being investigated.

TASER^® Use Policy

The RCMP announced a number of changes to its conducted energy weapon policy in May 2010. The changes went a long way towards addressing previous recommendations made by both the CPC and the Braidwood Commission.

The key change in the opinion of the CPC is the definition provided for situations where a trained RCMP member might use a TASER^®, namely: "situations where a subject is causing bodily harm or the member believes on reasonable grounds that the subject will imminently cause bodily harm."

The new threshold requirement for TASER^® use should help reduce the risk of 'usage creep' previously identified by the CPC. The change, along with the recognition that additional precautions be taken before using the weapon, was a prudent move on the part of the RCMP .

The CPC has some remaining concerns which it will be discussing with the RCMP . In addition, the CPC will follow up on new training standards to see how the RCMP 's policy will be applied to day to day policing.

CPC Review of the RCMP Public Complaints Record

Since 2007, the CPC has carried out an annual in-depth examination of the entire RCMP public complaints system. This project has a number of goals but is particularly aimed at providing an empirical foundation to assess how effectively the RCMP public complaints system is functioning overall.

The CPC's Review of the Record report for calendar year 2008 called for a number of enhancements to be made to the system, namely that:

• previous recommendations be implemented by the RCMP;
• complaints be tracked more effectively; and
• policies regarding complaint withdrawal and informal resolutions be clarified.

This report is an important public reporting and management tool in identifying areas requiring particular attention to enhance client service delivery.

The RCMP has taken a number of steps in response to the CPC's recommendations. In addition to clarifying policy directives and clearing up a number of historic complaints, the RCMP's National Public Complaint Unit has put in place a searchable database to track and monitor the public complaint process. This system will be key to helping ensure that public complaints are being handled consistently and in accordance with policy and public expectations.

Research into Systemic Concerns

Beyond tracking complaints, the CPC is also continuing its research into areas of particular concern to the public such as issues related to in-custody deaths and police training programs addressing interactions with people suffering from mental health-related issues.

Police Complaints Related to the Olympic Games

During the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, policing services were provided by the RCMP-led Integrated Security Unit, which was made up of RCMP members as well as officers from police services from across Canada. Municipal police officers from B.C.'s lower mainland also played a primary role in policing the Games.

The CPC worked with provincial police oversight bodies to coordinate the receipt of public complaints with respect to the conduct of RCMP members as well as all non-RCMP officers from outside of B.C. This meant that the Commission was prepared to accept complaints regarding all police conduct at/or connected to the Olympic Games.

The CPC's National Intake Office received ten complaints related to police conduct during the Olympic Games. None of these complaints raised broad concerns regarding the security operations during the Games.

The extensive preparations undertaken by the RCMP prior to the opening of the Olympic Games contributed significantly to what culminated as a very well-run event.

The model of partnership and engagement put in place for the 2010 Olympic Games will provide valuable guidance for assessing police/public interaction during the G8/G20 Summits in June 2010.

Internet Enhancements

As part of its ongoing commitment to ensuring greater public access to its reports and recommendations, the CPC has greatly expanded the amount of information available on its website this past year.

For example, a section of the website features a number of reports which highlight both areas for improvement as well as instances of exemplary police conduct.

In addition to providing its insights on the handling of key aspects of the public complaint process, the CPC will be publishing a series of articles on various issues which have consistently resulted in complaints from the public. These articles are not proposing to provide RCMP members with legal advice or override RCMP policy. Rather, the purpose is to promote best practices, share the CPC's perspective on these important issues, and the lessons that can be learned in this area from the civilian public complaint review process.

Management & Employee Engagement

The CPC promotes management excellence and has established an integrated human resources and business plan framework to establish and maintain the CPC as an employer of choice. Results from the most recent Public Service-wide Employee Survey (2008) confirmed that employee engagement is significantly higher at the CPC than compared to the Public Service as a whole. The CPC attaches great importance to integrated planning and management accountability. Both are central to ensuring that the CPC remains a healthy organization which retains and attracts competent, committed and engaged employees.

Enquiries

Enquiries may include requests for information about police authority, obtaining assistance in furthering an investigation or gaining an understanding of the role of Crown counsel. This alternative measure appreciably decreases the demands placed on the complaint system.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

The Commission employs skilled analysts, trained in mediation, who function as neutral and objective intermediaries to assist with conflict resolution between the public and the RCMP.

Commission analysts clarify what the roles and responsibilities of the parties are, establish logistics for communications and assure the individual that the formal complaint process remains an option in the event of an unsatisfactory outcome. In many instances, these types of conflicts are resolved within a few days.

It should be noted that statutory offence allegations or those alleging excessive use of force or other serious matters are not considered to be appropriate for ADR.

Formal Complaints

A formal complaint involves a complainant and a CPC analyst completing an official complaint form. The complaint is then written up and sent to the RCMP for investigation.

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the RCMP's investigation, he or she can request that the CPC conduct a review of the investigation.

Receipt of all Complaints in the First Instance

The CPC now has access to complaints received by the RCMP itself. This important development allows the CPC to fully assess all complaints made against the RCMP.

Interim Reports, Commissioner's Notices and Final Reports

On the other hand, if the Commission finds fault or is otherwise not satisfied, it will issue an "Interim Report" outlining its findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of the RCMP and the Minister of Public Safety.

The RCMP Commissioner prepares a response—the Commissioner's Notice—in which he describes what action the RCMP has taken or will take in light of the findings and recommendations. The CPC then prepares its final report—the Final Report After Commissioner's Notice (FACN)—which is sent to the complainant and the members involved.

The Commission may make recommendations that:

1. Address members' individual conduct.
2. Address members' behaviour for an entire detachment or unit.
3. Address deficiencies in a divisional (provincial) policy.
4. Address a deficiency in an RCMP-wide policy.

The CPC remains committed to ensuring that its recommendations are remedial in nature, focused on addressing more systemic concerns and preventing problems from arising in the future.

Delivery of Relevant Materials

As indicated in last year's Annual Report, the CPC's ability to complete its reports thoroughly and expeditiously is dependent upon the RCMP providing all materials relevant to the complaint in a timely manner.

During this past year, the RCMP's Divisional Professional Standards units have significantly improved their response times with the majority of materials being delivered within the 30-day objective. These improvements have played a major role in enhancing the timely response to complainants and RCMP members.

While the materials are coming to the CPC in a much timelier manner, in many cases key documents are missing. This means that they then have to be requested from the RCMP. Due to the unnecessary delays these follow-up requests cause to the review process, the CPC will be working with the RCMP to ensure that a consistent approach to providing documents to the CPC is followed by all RCMP divisions.

Interim & Satisfied Reports

The CPC remains committed to ensuring that at least 80% of its reports are finalized within 120 days of receiving the request for review. This year, the CPC achieved a performance rate of 95%.

Timeliness of Commissioner's Notices

In last year's Annual Report, the CPC commented positively on the efforts made by the RCMP Commissioner in fulfilling his commitment to work through the backlog of Commissioner's Notices and delivering all those outstanding from 2007 and 2008 by the end of March 2009.

This year, however, as can be seen by the table below, the backlog of Commissioner's Notices has returned. While the CPC acknowledges the significant strains that the security obligations in connection with the Winter Olympics in Vancouver had on the RCMP, permitting the accumulation of Commissioner's Notices causes major delays in the system which in turn threaten the integrity of the public complaint process.

The CPC strongly encourages the RCMP to implement service standards aimed at ensuring the timely delivery of responses to the CPC's Interim Reports.

Final Reports

The CPC has a 30-day service standard for completing FACNs after receiving a Commissioner's Notice. In the past fiscal year, the Commission delivered 25 FACNs to the RCMP, 84% of which were within the Commission's 30-day service standard.