Complaint Process: Frequently Asked Questions

A "public complaint" filed with the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC) is a complaint about the duty-related conduct^{Footnote *} of certain RCMP employes^{Footnote *}. Public complaints are usually investigated first by the RCMP but may be reviewed by the CRCC in cases where the complainant is not satisfied with the RCMP's decision.

Whether a complaint is filed through the CRCC or the RCMP, the process remains the same. The CRCC is the main point of contact to receive and process complaints. If you file a complaint with the RCMP, the RCMP will forward the complaint to the CRCC.

Yes, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act requires RCMP officers to accept public complaints.

Yes, someone else can file a complaint on your behalf if you consent. You can also have a lawyer (or paralegal in some jurisdictions) represent you in the complaint process, but a lawyer is not required.

When you file a complaint with the CRCC, list any other people who were directly involved in the incident and who are filing the complaint with you. Make sure you have their consent to do so. Anyone listed on the form might be contacted by the public complaint investigator.

Each incident should be filed as a separate complaint. If your complaint concerns a continuing matter (e.g. multiple concerns about the investigation of a single incident), you can list all your concerns in one complaint submission.

You do not need to attach any materials to your public complaint. You should describe the evidence that you have within your complaint and be prepared to provide copies to the public complaint investigator.

When you file your public complaint, you should provide a brief description of the incident that leads to your complaint along with a description of the misconduct that you are complaining about. You do not need to provide the full details at this stage, since you should be invited to an interview with the public complaint investigator.

You are not required to speak to the RCMP's public complaint investigator. However, if you do not provide a statement, it may be more difficult for the RCMP to address your complaint.

If you have concerns about how information you provide in a public complaint could be used against you, you may wish to seek independent legal advice. The CRCC cannot provide you with legal advice in the public complaint process.

Yes, you may. However, the CRCC has the discretionary power to refuse your complaint in some situations, including those where you are not directly involved or affected by the conduct.

Generally, the CRCC can only receive complaints about RCMP Regular Members (i.e. RCMP police officers), Civilian Members, and select persons appointed or employed under Part I of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act.

Sometimes, it is hard to know if a person is within the CRCC's jurisdiction. For instance, sometimes police officers involved in joint operations with the RCMP might fall within the CRCC's jurisdiction. Similarly, RCMP call takers and dispatchers may or may not fall within the CRCC's jurisdiction. We invite you to file a complaint with the relevant details so that we can determine whether the CRCC can accept your complaint. If we determine that we cannot accept the complaint, we will refer you, where possible, to another agency.

Generally, you must file your complaint within one year of the incident. The CRCC has the power to accept complaints beyond the one-year period when there are good reasons for doing so and if doing so is not contrary to the public interest. If you are filing a complaint outside of the one-year limitation period, you should explain why you did not file the complaint earlier and explain what steps you have taken in the meantime to address you concerns. The CRCC will consider your explanation along with the overall merits of your complaint, and any prejudice the delay might have on the RCMP, in deciding whether to accept your complaint.

Yes, you may. Please give us any information you have that could help identify the RCMP officer(s), including badge numbers, police vehicle numbers, or even a description of the officer(s). Please also provide the date, time, and location of the incident where possible.

You should file the complaint with the information you have available.

The CRCC is not part of the RCMP. We are an independent federal agency and we do not have direct access to any RCMP database. However, the RCMP's public complaint investigator will generally have access to these systems and will be able to obtain any police files related to your incident.

If you have not heard from the CRCC since submitting your public complaint, you can contact the CRCC through our web form: https://www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/contact-form. Please be sure to check your junk mail folder if you have provided us with an email contact.

The law requires us in most cases to send your complaint to the RCMP for investigation. The RCMP will assign a public complaint investigator to conduct the public complaint investigation. RCMP public complaint investigators are often active RCMP members, retired RCMP members, or RCMP reservists.

You can ask the RCMP to assign a different public complaint investigator, but it will be up to the RCMP to decide whether or not to do so. The CRCC cannot force the RCMP to assign a different investigator. If you are not satisfied with the RCMP's investigation and findings, you can ask the CRCC to review the matter by filling out the online review form: https://www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/request-review-form.

Please note that you can only request a review after the RCMP has finished its investigation and issued you a decision letter outlining its findings. The request for review must be made within 60 days of receiving or being notified of the RCMP's decision.

The CRCC is an independent federal agency and is not part of the RCMP. However, the law requires us in most cases to send your complaint to the RCMP for the initial investigation. If you are not satisfied with the RCMP's investigation and decision, you can ask the CRCC to review the matter by filling out the online review form: https://www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/request-review-form.

Please note that you can only request a review after the RCMP has finished its investigation and issued you a decision letter outlining its findings. The request for review must be made within 60 days of receiving or being notified of the RCMP's decision.

The public complaint process can sometimes be lengthy. The RCMP's public complaint investigator will typically review any related police files, conduct interviews of the involved parties, and prepare recommendations for the RCMP's decision maker. The complexity of your matter, the availability of witnesses, and other competing priorities may affect the time it takes to finish the investigative process.

The law does not set out a mandatory timeline for the overall completion of the public complaint process.

You should hear from the public complaint investigator within 45 days of your complaint being formally accepted (i.e. the date on the formal complaint correspondence you receive from us). You will receive monthly updates after that. Please be sure to check your junk mail folder if you have provided an email contact.

If you have not heard from the RCMP's public complaint investigator after 45 days from your complaint being formally accepted, you can contact the CRCC through our web form: https://www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/contact-form.

You should receive monthly updates from the RCMP during the course of the public complaint investigation. Sometimes there are delays, which can happen when the monthly updates are sent by postal mail for instance. If you have not received a monthly status update within a reasonable period, first try to reach out to the RCMP's public complaint investigator. If you are unable to resolve your concerns, you may contact us through our web form: https://www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/contact-form.

The RCMP will investigate each allegation you have made and will reach a decision on whether to support them or not.

If the RCMP supports an allegation, it should take steps to remedy the problem. Please note that the public complaint process is remedial, not disciplinary. Examples of steps the RCMP might take include:

• Issuing you a formal apology
• Providing extra operational guidance, mentoring, or training to specific officers
• Committing to reopen an investigation or to take other steps to rectify an investigative gap
• Committing to change local detachment procedures to correct an issue you have identified
• Providing training to detachment members
• Conducting an audit to assess the scope of a problem
• Returning an item that was improperly seized or held

That said, there is no standard list of outcomes since each case should be examined individually. You can ask for a specific remedy in your complaint if you know what you would like to achieve though the process.

Please note that the public complaint process itself will not result in discipline, dismissal, or criminal charges against an RCMP member. However, in serious cases, your public complaint could prompt the RCMP to initiate a separate Code of Conduct (disciplinary) or criminal investigation. The CRCC has no control over Code of Conduct or criminal investigations.

You may file a complaint about the actions of the police officer who issued the ticket. For instance, you can complain about the officer's attitude, the quality of their investigation, or their decision to issue you a violation ticket. However, the public complaint process will not affect the validity of the violation ticket. If you want to challenge the validity of the violation ticket, you must contest it in court. Please refer to the procedure written on the violation ticket to do so.

Normally, the public complaint process does not result in compensation for losses or damages, although there may be some rare exceptions. You may wish to consult with a lawyer to help determine what processes are available to you to seek compensation in your circumstances. There may be strict time limits involved, so you should act swiftly to preserve your rights. The CRCC cannot provide you with legal advice concerning compensation matters.

In some cases, the CRCC has the power to refuse a complaint. For instance, if a complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious, or made in bad faith. The CRCC can also refuse complaints in cases where the complainant was not directly involved or did not suffer loss, damage, distress, danger or inconvenience.

There is no internal appeal process to appeal CRCC decisions to refuse complaints.

An informal resolution ends the public complaint process according to terms agreed to by the parties. An informal resolution can only be conducted when everyone involved agrees to do so.

A formal investigation will result in a formal decision letter from the RCMP outlining your allegations, the results of the RCMP's investigation, and the decision of the RCMP Commissioner's delegate^{Footnote *}.

You should first try to resolve your concerns with the RCMP's public complaint investigator. If you are unable to resolve your concerns, you may contact us through our web form: https://www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/contact-form.

You may withdraw your public complaint by requesting so in writing to either the CRCC or the RCMP. To do so via the CRCC, you may contact us through our web form: https://www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/contact-form. If your complaint is under investigation by the RCMP, you may also contact the RCMP's public complaint investigator to withdraw your complaint.

Generally, the decision to withdraw a public complaint is final. If you have withdrawn your public complaint in error or otherwise feel there is good reason to reopen the matter, you may contact us through our web form: https://www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/contact-form.

Please note that there may be several file/reference numbers associated to your public complaint. The CRCC and the RCMP will have separate file/reference numbers and, furthermore, there may be other file/reference numbers associated to related online forms sent to the CRCC. If possible, use your CRCC file number when corresponding with the CRCC.

We are pleased to offer service in English and French, in accordance with the Official Languages Act. If this presents difficulties to you, please reach out to us. Complaint forms in a variety of different languages can also be found on the CRCC's website at https://www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/contact-form.

If you require accommodations due to a protected characteristic under the Canadian Human Rights Act, please reach out to us through the Contact Us form and let us know what assistance is required: https://www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/contact-form.

After the RCMP has investigated your public complaint and issued you a decision letter outlining its findings, you have the right to request a review. During a review, the CRCC will comprehensively examine your complaint, including by reviewing the original police file(s), any associated evidence such as video recordings or photographs, the RCMP's public complaint investigation, and any submissions you make.

The CRCC's review is fully independent from the RCMP. Following the review, the CRCC will issue a report explaining its findings and any recommendations that are made.

You can request a review by filling out the online review form: https://www.crcc-ccetp.gc.ca/en/request-review-form.

Please note that you must request your review within 60 days of receiving or being notified of the RCMP's decision.