2-340.1 – Investigative Discretion and Investigative Assessments
General
MP operate within a complex environment and must take into account, among other things, the unique nature of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and local community, federal and provincial legislation, policies, procedures and programs, resources and missions. These impact MP decision-making and police work and, therefore, discretion at the heart of the MP decision-making process. Care must be taken in placing any reliance upon evidence obtained by other investigations (including boards of inquiry, summary investigations, or other police services) that may displace the military police officer’s exercise of his/her own investigative assessment. The factors and principles outlined in this document will assist the MP in exercising appropriate discretion in determining whether to investigate or continue to investigate a complaint.
This attachment refers to the process of applying and recording investigative discretion. For policies and procedures related to charge-laying discretion, refer to CF MP Gp Order 2-363.
Initiating or Continuing an Investigation
The following factors shall be considered when exercising investigative discretion:
mandate:
MP jurisdiction (refer to CF MP Gp Order 2-110);
Canadian Forces National Investigation Service’s (CFNIS) mandate (refer to CF MP Gp Order 2-381);
location of the offence;
requirement for specialist skills; and
nature of the complaint (trivial, vexatious, or made in bad faith).
resources needed:
human resources;
material resources; and
other expenditures.
expediency:
minor offence; and
suspect interview requirement.
solvability factors:
suspect(s) known;
identifiable suspect vehicle or licence plate;
identifiable suspect description;
investigative leads known;
witness to crime;
physical evidence present;
multiple occurrences with same modus operandi (serial offence); and
military/public policy requires immediate action.
CAF-specific factors:
impact on unit morale or cohesion;
superior/subordinate relationship;
whether the rank or position of subject makes it important to pursue;
high monetary value of crime (public funds);
military exigency;
prejudice to good order and discipline; and
alternative means of resolution available (administrative action, unit investigation, harassment policy).
Documentation of Investigative Discretion
All information concerning the complaint and the exercise of investigative discretion shall be documented in MP notebooks and the related General Occurrence (GO) report, including the rationale for suspending the investigation. CF MP Gp Order 2-126 sets out the policy and procedures for drafting a GO.
The MP Detachment commander, in consultation with higher MP headquarters, is authorized to decide if a complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious, or made in bad faith. Upon making such a decision, the local MP unit commander may direct that no further investigation be made or that an investigation be ended. Any decision made with regard to the exercise of investigative discretion shall be recorded in the MP notebook and the relevant General Occurrence report (GO).
Investigative Assessments
In order to ensure investigative assessments are detailed and comprehensive, investigators are to record in detail the steps taken in reaching a conclusion about whether a complaint requires further investigation, the facts considered in reaching the conclusion, and the sources for those facts.
An investigative assessment may be as simple as one interview or a file search. The aim of this step is to determine whether there is enough substance to an allegation to conduct a full criminal investigation. In some cases, such as a murder, it may be readily evident that a serious criminal offence has occurred. In other cases, preliminary investigative steps may be required in order to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to suspect that a service or criminal offence has been committed. The investigative benchmarks set out in CF MP Gp Order 2-381.1 shall be used to assess whether or not a complaint meets the criteria of a serious or sensitive offence.
Where a complex allegation or complaint has been received, investigators will carefully review the entire complaint and identify the distinct matters they understand to be the essence of the complaint or allegation. Where there is a question concerning any aspect of the complaint or what it is about, investigators will consult with the complainant/victim to verify their full understanding of the information provided as well as the matters the complainant understands to be under investigation.
An investigative assessment should include the following considerations:
whether the alleged incident falls with the definition of a serious and/or sensitive offence;
whether the alleged offence is assessed as trivial, frivolous, vexatious, or made in bad faith;
whether MP are involved in the alleged offence;
whether there are issues relating to conflict of interest;
the complexity of the investigation;
whether the reporting MP unit has the necessary resources to successfully investigate the allegations;
the ability of CFNIS to respond in a timely manner; and
the potential to reach across provincial or national boundaries or involve elements of more than one CF command.
In all cases, the investigative steps undertaken during the assessment, including the rationale and results of the investigative assessment, shall be recorded in the Security and Military Police Information System (SAMPIS) in an Investigative Activity (IA) text type. Particular care should be taken to record decisions to not take particular investigative steps as well.
Approval Authority:
COS Readiness
OPI:
J7 Policy
Issued:
08 Nov 16
Supersedes:
MPPTP Chap 2, dated Dec 06
MPPTP Chap 2, Anx H, dated Feb 08
MPPTP Chap 2, Anx H, App 1, dated Feb 08
MPPTP Chap 6, Anx A, dated Oct 07
