RCMP commitments on responses to public complaints

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Civilian review is essential for ensuring public trust and confidence. The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC) is an independent body that reviews complaints about police officer conduct and may provide recommendations for RCMP policies and practices.

With nearly 20,000 police officers handling over 2.8 million interactions each year, complaints can be expected. They cover a range of potential concerns from improper attitude or lack of service to improper arrest and improper use of force.

This year, we cleared our backlog of public complaints. We value the role of the CRCC and commit to resolving all complaints within the agreed-upon timelines going forward.

When we do receive a complaint regarding the conduct of a police officer, our objective is to deal with it appropriately. Where the CRCC reviews a complaint or conducts an investigation, we cooperate fully to respond effectively to their independent findings and recommendations.

As part of our commitment to strengthening trust, transparency and accountability, the RCMP is providing an overview of all commitments we have made in response to CRCC recommendations. The overview includes the status of each recommendation that the Commissioner supported in her responses to the CRCC Chairperson. The table currently includes recommendations from reports published by the CRCC in 2020 and 2021 and more will be added as they are available.

To respect the privacy of individual complainants, names will be omitted from the summary.

The RCMP is tracking commitments made in response to:

Chairperson-initiated complaints
Complaints about RCMP member conduct can also be made by the Commission Chairperson if the Chairperson determines that there are reasonable grounds to investigate. Chairperson-Initiated Complaints are processed in the same manner as a complaint from a member of the public. A Chairperson-Initiated Complaint allows the Commission Chairperson to set the scope of the RCMP's investigation of a public complaint.
Public interest investigations
Public Interest Investigations can be launched in relation to a complaint received from a member of the public, or as a result of a Chairperson-Initiated Complaint.
Strategic Investigations
The Commission has the authority to conduct reviews of specified RCMP activities for the purpose of ensuring accordance with legislation, regulation, ministerial direction, or RCMP policies, procedures or guidelines. These reviews can be initiated by the Commission, or, at the request of either the Minister of Public Safety, or a provincial minister responsible for policing in a province where the RCMP provides service.
Individual Complaint Reviews
When a complaint is made, typically the RCMP carries out the initial investigation into the complaint and reports back to the complainant. If a complainant is not satisfied with the RCMP's handling of their complaint, they may request that the Commission conduct a review of the RCMP's investigation. Upon such a request, the Commission obtains all relevant material from the RCMP and assesses the RCMP's investigation of the complaint.

Commissioner's commitments by year

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