Nunavut RCMP complaint process takes too long, doesn’t work properly: Observer

The RCMP in Nunavut is taking too long to handle public complaints about the police and is not adequately trained to handle them, according to a report by the force’s watchdog.

The RCMP’s Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) released the results of an investigation Thursday into how the Nunavut RCMP handled complaints made against them through the commission’s process.

The report examines complaints filed between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2022. It examines policies, procedures and guidelines, training, compliance and public perception.

In those four years, there were 75 public complaints against the RCMP in Nunavut — a low number, according to the CRCC.

“Nunavut’s low number of complaints over the four-year review period may be due to either a lack of confidence in the system, which particularly affects Inuit communities, or a lack of awareness, or both,” the report said. said

It was found that some investigations lasted from three to five years.

Some investigations have also not been opened by the RCMP for nearly two years, causing some people to withdraw their complaints.

Almost two-thirds of complaints were withdrawn or not considered at all.

The grievance process is not adapted to Nunavut

The report contains several recommendations and findings for the Nunavut RCMP to improve the complaint handling process. RCMP Commissioner Mike Duhame responded in a separate report.

The CRCC recommended that the RCMP make training on the complaints process mandatory and update and expand knowledge of national policy.

He also recommended that the Nunavut RCMP develop its own public complaints policy “that is tailored to the realities of policing in Nunavut.”

He also wants the RCMP to update its national policy on handling public complaints.

The CRCC and Nunavut RCMP should also increase awareness and accountability of the public complaint system, it said.

He also found the RCMP’s national policy on complaints “unclear and lengthy.” Nor does the RCMP need oversight to monitor the effectiveness of the policy.

The CRCC said it’s important for RCMP members in Nunavut to understand the difference between withdrawing a complaint and informally addressing one or two things they often did.

“The CRCC found that this was often done without the proper wording of the rationale, making it difficult to know whether the complaint was correctly coded as a withdrawal or an informal decision.”

Overall, the number of citizen complaints withdrawn was much higher in Nunavut compared to the rest of Canada, at 27 per cent compared to 11 per cent.

The audit also found that a public complaint process training course was not conducted for Nunavut’s complaint investigators during the audit period.

Most of the people interviewed also did not know that training was available at all.

It was also found that the Nunavut RCMP does not offer personnel arriving in the territory pre-deployment.

“They are not trained in cultural awareness, local knowledge and the history of the RCMP in Nunavut. This type of training should be added as soon as possible.”

The RCMP did contract with Pirurvik, an Inuit-owned training center, to develop pre-deployment training, but it was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his response, the commissioner said that a new agreement had been reached with the new cultural agency to reinstate the training, which would be compulsory for members.

The commissioner rejects two recommendations

RCMP Commissioner Duhame did not accept the CRCC’s recommendation to create an online portal for people to check the status of their complaint. The commissioner said that’s because legislation already requires the RCMP to update complainants once a month.

He said he would direct RCMP members in Nunavut to comply.

Nor did the Commissioner adopt recommendations to establish a grievance system that would meet the needs of Nunavut. He said the Nunavut RCMP is working with other partners to adapt the process to Nunavut and creating an online system won’t solve the problem.

Duchem generally agreed or supported all recommendations except these two.

The CRCC also commissioned NVision Insight Group to conduct community research as part of the review, which was published in separate report.

The CRCC said the RCMP should also recruit and retain Inuktut-speaking members.

“The limited number of Inuit members in Division V contributes to language barriers, power imbalances and a lack of community trust.”