What Do I Do if I Think the Police Have Done Something Wrong or Treated Me Badly?

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees things like your right not to speak with police, your right to speak with a lawyer, your right to a fair trial and your right not to be unfairly searched or detained by police. When these sorts of rights are violated and you are charged with an offence, you can bring what is called a "Charter application" to inform the court that one of your Charter rights was violated. Most Charter applications are brought to try to exclude evidence (i.e. say that evidence police gathered when they violated your rights should not be used to convict you of a crime).

Bringing a Charter application can be quite complicated and you should try to get the advice and help of a lawyer.

Police are only allowed to use the force that is reasonably necessary in the circumstances to, for example, arrest a person. If they go beyond that, they can be disciplined or even face criminal charges.

Making a Complaint

If you think the police have done something wrong, you have the right to make a complaint. Complaints are handled by agencies that are separate from the police or RCMP. Complaints should be made as soon as possible. In most cases, they must be made within one year. In your complaint, you should describe what happened in as much detail as you remember. If you were hurt, describe your injury and whether you saw a doctor. Include the date, time and place of the incident as well as the badge numbers and names of any officers involved. If you do not know names or badge numbers, you can give a description of the officers involved. Include information about any witnesses to the incident.

Who Handles Complaints

Complaints about the RCMP go to the Complaints Commission for the RCMP. Complaints about all other police services can be made to the Public Complaints Commission. You can make your complaint directly to one of those bodies (RCMP - online, by telephon or fax, or by mail) (PCC - online, in person or by mail). You can also make your complaint to the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Special Investigations Unit (306.665.1215 or info@fsin.com). The Special Investigations Unit will take your complaint in a culturally informed way and will get it to the right place and make sure it is investigated.

You can also make your complaint:

• directly to the RCMP or other police service (they will forward it to the right place)
• to the Ministry of Justice
• to the relevant police board

Once a Complaint is Made

The agency (RCMP Complaints Commission or Public Complaints Commission) will let you know that your complaint has been received. You have the right to tell your side of the story as part of the investigation. Once the matter has been investigated, you will be told what the decision was. If you made your complaint to the FSIN Special Investigations Unit, they may provide you with this information and additional support as needed.

A police officer who has done something wrong may be suspended or even fired. They may also face other consequences. In serious cases, they may face criminal charges.

If you are not satisfied with the report of the investigation, you may have options to ask for a review. If you are still not satisfied and your complaint went to the Public Complaints Commission, you can contact Ombudsman Saskatchewan who can review the process followed by the PCC and made sure they treated you fairly.

The complaint process cannot award any money in damages. To claim damages and receive compensation, you would need to bring a court action against the officers involved. This is usually quite an expensive option.