Stephanie McDonald
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 3, 2007

NUNAVUT - Complaints against the RCMP in Nunavut have jumped to 23 so far in 2007, compared to just one in 1999, according to the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP (CPC).

Sgt. Mike Toohey: open dialogue is key to resolving problems.

The independent agency has received six more complaints already in 2007 than it did in 2006. Both the Yukon and NWT saw a decrease in policing complaints in the same time period.

The most common complaints include accusations of improper use of force, neglect of duty, improper arrest and improper search of premises.

"I wouldn't say it's normal that there's that kind of spike in one particular year. It's noteworthy, that's for sure," Nelson Kalil, a spokesperson with the CPC said.

Yet the interpretation of the numbers is not an exact science, he said. He didn't know if the higher number of complaints meant that awareness of the CPC had increased or if improper interactions are actually on the rise.

When the CPC receives a complaint from an individual in Nunavut, it's immediately referred to the RCMP detachment in question. The officers in the community investigate the incident and return to the CPC with their analysis of the situation.

The CPC will review the findings and, if satisfied, will share the results with the complainant. If dissatisfied with the findings, the complainant can ask for a review of the investigation by the CPC.

If a complaint is minor in nature, it can often be solved by dialogue at the detachment level, Kalil said. If more serious, the investigation will take place at a regional level. Kalil emphasized that the officer in question is never the one to conduct the investigation.

The statistics don't necessarily account for an increase in incidents, but rather an increase in reportage of incidents, said Mike Toohey, media liaison with the RCMP's V Division.

"I think it demonstrates a healthy relationship in that there is a system in place," Toohey said.

He emphasized that the numbers from the CPC don't capture the complaints that are resolved right away.

If the CPC does discover improper police conduct, its power to respond is limited.

"All we can do is provide findings and recommendations. If there's internal discipline to be had, it's up to the RCMP to pursue that," Kalil said. "We may recommend that they try to take that route, but we don't have enforcement capacity."

Toohey said he can't remember an officer being dismissed following an investigation initiated by the CPC. Reprimand of an officer depends on the nature of the complaint, and can range from a talking to from a superior to having to write a letter of apology.

The key to ensuring an issue doesn't turn into a complaint to the CPC is continual open dialogue at the community level and to examine and improve procedures when an issue does come up, Toohey said.

One Kugluktuk man tells of an incident involving what he believes was a wrongful arrest - an incident that has eroded his trust in the RCMP in his community, he said.

This past summer, his son was out walking with friends late at night. A patrolling RCMP officer pulled up beside the young men for routine questioning. During the conversation he heard one of the young men say something obscene.

"Right away he thought it was my son, so he took him in the truck and took him to the RCMP station and put him in the cell for an hour," said the Kugluktuk man, who wished to remain anonymous.

His son was never charged.

The man was upset at the time, but waited until two weeks ago to say something. Upon calling the officer in question, the man claimed the response was, "Why don't you come down and talk to me like a man."

When the two finally met in person, the man asked why his son had been thrown in jail.

"He was in jail because he deserves to be in jail," was the officer's response, the man said.

"It's a bad way of doing policing. They're supposed to be trustworthy people," the man said. "Instead they're making themselves look bad by doing all this kind of stuff."

In Arctic Bay, some residents have expressed concerns that their RCMP officers can't speak Inuktitut. The RCMP have to work through interpreters - sometimes hard to find - to deal with the town's majority unilingual Inuktitut speakers. Mayor Darlene Willie said things were easier during the times that the town had an Inuktitut-speaking RCMP officer.

Additionally, a resident attended a hamlet council meeting last month to complain about response time of the RCMP. While Willie hasn't heard of an official complaint being lodged with the CPC, she said that residents are "a little bit to the unhappy side," with the service they are receiving from the RCMP.

In Rankin Inlet, the story is more positive, according to the mayor of that community.

"I personally haven't heard of anyone complain about RCMP mistreating anyone ... in the last few years," said Mayor Lorne Kusugak.

He said the community has been lucky in that they currently have two Inuuk officers and when an incident arises, there is usually someone around who can speak Inuktitut.