Complaints

INTRODUCTION

The statutory mandate of the Military Police Complaints Commission is found in Part IV of the National Defence Act, gComplaints About or By Military Policeh. Under this Part of the Act, the duties of the Commission can be divided into four primary areas of responsibility:

• monitoring the handling of complaints by the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal;
• reviewing investigations of conduct complaints by the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (which often include an investigation by the Commission);
• investigating interference complaints; and,
• conducting Commission investigations or hearings of conduct and interference complaints when the Chair deems it to be in the public interest.

Whether monitoring investigations, reviewing complaints or conducting its own investigations or hearings of complaints, the Commission acts as a neutral third party. The objective is to ensure that all parties are treated fairly.

The Commission represents only the public interest, seeking to determine the facts, state its findings, and make recommendations aimed at improving military policing.

ACTIVITY

During 2005, the Commission monitored the Canadian Forces Provost Marshalfs handling of more than 50 complaints about the conduct of military police. Five complainants asked the Commission to review the way their complaints had been handled by the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM), and the Commission received one complaint of interference from military police. The Commission has launched a public interest hearing on the matter of a conduct complaint of a particularly serious nature surrounding the involvement of military police in a sexual assault investigation. The outcome of this process will be reported on in the next annual report.

Types of Allegations Contained in Conduct Complaints filed in 2005
(As set out in the Complaints About the Conduct of Members of the Military Police Regulations*)

* Under the National Defence Act, only complaints about the conduct of military police in the performance of the nine “policing duties and functions” listed here are subject to civilian oversight by the Complaints Commission. Complaints about military police duties or functions that relate to administration, training, or military operations that result from established military practice are specifically excluded from the Commission’s jurisdiction.

The Commission also received a number of complaints about the conduct of military police in 2005 that, because the conduct in question did not relate to the performance of the policing duties and functions set out in the regulations, were found to be outside the jurisdiction of the Commission. These complaints were referred to the CFPM for information and appropriate action.