I am pleased to disclose the raw data arising from the Professional Responsibility Sector's Legislative Reform Initiative – Second Year Review ("the 2016 PRS Review"). The PRS Review provides me and the senior management team of the Force an overview of the accomplishments, progress and challenges facing the RCMP as we closed out year two of our reform initiative concerning conduct, harassment, public complaints, grievances and appeals.
Background
On November 28, 2014, significant legislative reform was brought about by the coming into force of the Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act (Accountability Act). The Accountability Act significantly amended the RCMP's governing statute, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act.
As a result of the new legislation, PRS was created to oversee the RCMP's conduct management, harassment investigation and resolution, public complaints, and grievance and appeals processes. PRS promotes the RCMP's vision for a comprehensive responsibility-based workplace regime that promotes professional, values-based decision-making and behaviour across the organization.
The results of these efforts are highlighted below and I encourage you to read the full presentation for a more detailed account of how we are measuring in these key areas of professional responsibility. While the new regime remains in its infancy, we are pleased by the progress to date, and will continue to track and monitor our results, making changes suggested by those results, as we move forward.
Finally, what is particularly striking for me as I close out my service, is less what this data says to us -although obviously, it is vital information to our efforts - it's that we have succeeded in assembling, producing and transparently disclosing this data in the first place. That signals and illustrates another important element in our ongoing efforts to transform the Force. We are getting there... don't stop.
Bob Paulson Commissioner
Executive summary: Highlights of the 2016 PRS Review
With respect to conduct, in 2016, 474 conduct files were opened, representing a 36% decrease from the first 13 months of the new process. Between 2015 and 2016, the number of total allegations against members decreased by 48%, and the number of dismissal cases decreased by 30%.
The amount of time taken to complete a conduct file has significantly improved under the new process. Of the matters commenced in 2015, 96% were completed by December 31, 2016, representing a vast improvement over the old process. In 2016, the average duration of a conduct file that was dealt with by means of a conduct meeting was 121 days, which represents a 34% reduction in the average duration in comparison to 2015.
Although complaints concerning discrimination have decreased, there was an increase in harassment complaints in 2016 over 2015. However, despite this increase, harassment complaints are being dealt with in a more timely fashion. The national average for completion of a harassment investigation in 2016 was 126 days in comparison to 270 days in 2015. A new course was launched in October 2016 to train harassment investigators in completing timely and thorough investigations.
In accordance with the recommendations arising from the Report on Allegations of Harassment and Sexual Misconduct at the RCMP's Canadian Police College Explosives Training Unit, the RCMP created a definition of sexual misconduct. That definition, "any inappropriate act, behavior, or language of a sexual nature," is being used to track and analyze statistics relating to such conduct as well as identify files that are to be prioritized.
In 2016, 8.5% of all files opened under the conduct, harassment, and human rights processes contained an allegation that met the definition of sexual misconduct.
In 2017, the RCMP launched a national campaign concerning sexual misconduct awareness. The RCMP will continue to diligently monitor allegations of sexual misconduct with a view to eliminating this behaviour from the workplace.