Few complaints against Kelowna cops

Kelly Hayes - Mar 5, 2009 CASTANET:

Kelowna's top cop says if his detachment was a business, customer satisfaction would not be a problem. "Last year, we had 110 complaints against our detachment. I think that's a pretty good track record," says Superintendent, Bill McKinnon. The Kelowna RCMP detachment dealt with more than 70,000 calls of service last year. McKinnon says the stats speak for themselves. "I think that if any business said they had more than 70,000 customers and only 110 unsatisfied customers, it's a pretty good track record. I think it's a pretty good statistic on the level of service that we provide." Despite the numbers, McKinnon says his members are not immune to making mistakes. But he attributes the mistakes to inexperience. "We have 71 members that have less than three years experience. That's huge considering that when I first arrived here seven years ago, the average was 10 years service." Of the 71 new members, McKinnon says the average age is between 20 and 25 years old. McKinnon says the three most common complaints against his members are: attitude, neglect of duty and excessive force.

He says that of the 110 complaints he reviewed last year, roughly 30 were substantiated. McKinnon doesn't have the authority to fire a member. That's up to an RCMP tribunal. "But I can tell you that we've never had to go to that extent in the last year."