RCMP says it cleared its backlog of complaints — but not before some of the complainants died

After years of criticism, the RCMP now says it has cleared its backlog of public complaints and is in the midst of implementing recommendations coming from its watchdog agency — but some of the complainants are no longer alive to see the results.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC) is called upon hundreds of times a year to investigate public complaints about RCMP activity, ranging from claims of bad behaviour to allegations of botched investigations.

When a member of the public has an issue with the way they were treated by Mounties, the local detachment investigates the complaint first. If the individual isn't satisfied with the RCMP's findings, they can turn the case over to the CRCC.

Whenever the watchdog isn't satisfied with the RCMP's original actions, it sends a report to the RCMP commissioner for review. 

Only after RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki and her team respond to the watchdog's findings and recommendations can the CRCC's final report be compiled and released.

Over the past few years, hundreds of those reports have been left in limbo awaiting the commissioner's response — sometimes for years.

So far this fiscal year, the watchdog agency has finished more than 160 "adverse" reports — ones that came to conclusions that were unfavourable to the RCMP.

One of those reports concluded that the RCMP failed to adequately investigate a teen's sexual assault, while others confirmed people were arrested without reasonable grounds.

While the fiscal year isn't over yet, the number of adverse reports completed this year far outpaces the 78 adverse findings in 2020-2021 and the 24 the year before.

As of Dec. 8, the watchdog had finished another 110 reports siding with the RCMP.

In a tweet earlier this month, Commissioner Lucki said the force has cleared its backlog of public complaints 

"Civilian review is essential for ensuring public trust and confidence," she said.

On its website, the RCMP says most of the CRCC's recommendations have been fulfilled. But the delays affected how the force put some of those recommendations into action.

In a case involving "improper use of force, mishandling of property and improper arrest," for example, the officer wasn't able to apologize as advised because the complainant had died. The complaint was lodged in 2018 and the report was finished earlier this year.