A study conducted in Northern B.C. town by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association shows policing problems are more pronounced in smaller communities, says executive director David Eby.
"That wasn't exactly what we looked at, but there did seem to be more complaints in smaller communities."
The BCCLA put out a 104 page report detailing complaints of RCMP behaviour in 14 communities throughout B.C. this week.
In Bella Coola, despite repeated attempts to solicit positive comments, not one person wanted to say anything good about the RCMP at all.
But in every other community, even the people with complaints about the RCMP also had nice things to say.
The types of problems Eby saw were consistent in all the communities, he said,
leading him to speculate the problems the RCMP are encountering are systemic.
"I do think there are some systemic issue that the RCMP should take from this report."
Among the problems he listed were how the RCMP deal with:
accountability
how they deal with people who are drunk in public
the relationship with Aboriginal peoples
how the RCMP executes searches
how they deal with seizing property
and how they deal with homeless residents
And while people in virtually every community encountered these problems, more complaints seem to come from smaller towns, he said.
"Our largest workshops were in Anahim Lake and Bella Coola, two of the smallest communities we visited," said Eby.
More than 80 people attended the workshops.
"That's roughly 10 per cent of the population in the area."
That number can be put in perspective when compared to Prince George where less than one-tenth of one per cent of the population turned out with complaints.
Eby partially attributed the issues with the fact mostly junior officers are stationed in the smaller towns, and the length of service in those towns tends to be brief.
Eby also saw the reality of living in the North as further exacerbating the problem.
"Whether it's doctors or lawyer, or journalists, or policemen, there are going to be a lot of rookies who are going to be working in the North," he said.
"I think the RCMP needs to recognize this and put various safeguards in place to ensure younger officers are properly trained and mentored."
