RCMP silent on Alberta murder victims citing Privacy Act

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A recent decision by RCMP not to release the names of victims in four separate Alberta homicides is being called into question by privacy experts, who say the force may be misapplying federal laws.

RCMP confirmed last month that a homicide investigation is underway in the beating death of a 26-year-old Red Deer man, who died after being taken off life support March 30.

An autopsy was conducted March 31 but, in a break from usual practice, RCMP have refused to release the man’s name, citing the federal Privacy Act.

Mounties are also refusing to release the name of a 25-year-old woman killed in Red Deer on Feb. 1, at the request of the victim’s family.

The names of two more homicide victims in Maskwacis from March are also not being disclosed.

The approach seems to be out of step with past practices by RCMP and municipal forces that routinely release the names of homicide victims following an autopsy and identification by the medical examiner.

Lawyer David Fraser, one of Canada’s foremost experts on privacy law, says there’s reason to believe the RCMP are misinterpreting the law.

“There is a public interest override that allows the (RCMP) to disclose personal information when it’s in the public interest to do so, which they seem to be exercising in some ways, but perhaps not sufficiently,” Fraser says.

“The RCMP itself tends to be secretive. And it tends to be particularly secretive in policing mode in Alberta.”

Access to information experts say the withholding of victims’ names is part of a trend seen in RCMP jurisdictions across the country since at least 2015. 

Earlier this month, it was revealed that B.C. RCMP had taken nearly seven months to publicly acknowledge that a man had been murdered near Kamloops.

The federal Privacy Act cited by RCMP to shield the names of homicide victims is more than 30 years old. And the law enforcement agency has so far not acknowledged any formal change in policy in departing from its previous practice of routinely releasing the names of victims. 

Meanwhile, Alberta’s municipal forces, including the Calgary Police Service and the Edmonton Police Service, continue to routinely release the names of homicide victims.

The Calgary Police Service says it will only withhold the name of a homicide victim in “very rare” circumstances. CPS releases the name once an identification has been made by the medical examiner in most circumstances. 

The service cited similar considerations as RCMP when it comes to releasing names, including furthering an investigation and the desires of the next of kin.

One additional consideration in CPS policy is the “personification for the prevention of similar incidents,” which amounts to putting a name and face on a crime in hopes of preventing similar incidents in the future, said a spokesperson for CPS.

CPS and all other municipal forces in Alberta are bound by provincial privacy legislation, not the federal Privacy Act.

Barry Larocque of the RCMP’s strategic communications unit says the federal Privacy Act sets a “very high standard” for the release of personal information.

“We don’t have the right to release (names) unless we are furthering an investigation or basically the public interest overrules the privacy aspect of it,” Larocque says.

“For instance, if we have a homicide that we know who the perpetrator of the crime was, we know it is an isolated incident and there’s no risk to the public . . . basically the federal Privacy Act doesn’t allow us to release that name because there is no investigational need for it and the public interest part could be up for debate — but that is left to the investigative agency (to decide).”

But Fraser says the resulting contrast in transparency between rural and municipal jurisdictions can sometimes be “perverse.”

“It should be consistent across the province. Are the public less worthy of information — relevant, useful information — depending upon what side of a relatively artificial boundary the death occurred?”

Alberta’s justice minister declined to comment on the specific cases in Red Deer and Maskwacis, but says RCMP handle each case depending on “the individual facts.”

“My understanding is the RCMP will release names of homicide victims when they find it in the public interest to do so. Public interest considerations would include where there is a public safety issue, if police are looking for a suspect in a homicide, or if personal information is already in the public domain,” says Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley.

Some critics have suggested that in the case of homicides, the public interest nearly always outweighs privacy concerns. Duncan Pike with Canadian Journalists for Free Expression says homicide is a crime that involves the entire community.

“That’s why the Crown prosecution will go ahead (with charges), even when maybe the family wouldn’t need it or desire it, because it’s recognized that there is a strong social and community interest in seeing these kind of things prosecuted,” Pike says.

“There’s a similar case to be made for the community having that information, too, so that people know who the victim is and can explore some of the implications beyond it, because it is something that impacts beyond just the immediate family.”

Sean Holman, assistant professor of journalism at Mount Royal University, says the omission of the names by RCMP makes it very difficult for the public to assess the actions and efficacy of police.

“To my way of thinking, this is actually protection from accountability.”

Holman says withholding the names of victims cast these crimes into the shadows.

“Crime is the public business; it’s not private business. And when there is crime in the community it is a community problem, it’s not a private problem.”

There have been at least 11 homicides investigated by RCMP in Alberta so far this year. Four of the victims have not been identified.

— With files from Ryan Rumbolt

mpotkins@postmedia.com