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A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer closes the gate to Robert Pickton's pig farm April 9, 2002.Lyle Stafford/ Reuters

The RCMP acted appropriately in its investigation of serial killer Robert Pickton and followed up investigative leads, says an internal report prepared in 2002.

"There is little doubt that the RCMP attempted to exhaust all investigative avenues relative to the suspect Robert William Pickton," states the 27-page report by RCMP Inspector R. J. Williams and Staff Sergeant K.W. Simmill.

The report, released this week in response to a Freedom of Information request and obtained by CTV, was intended to provide a reply to allegations in a lawsuit against the police by the family of Angela Joesbury, one of Vancouver's missing women.

Mr. Pickton was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of six women, including Ms. Joesbury, who was last seen in June, 2001. Mr. Pickton was arrested in February, 2002.

The Joesbury family alleged that the RCMP did not properly investigate information from various sources between 1983 and 2002 that indicated that Mr. Pickton was involved in the disappearances. The RCMP failed to put in place adequate investigative resources after they identified the possibility of a serial killer, and failed to share information with other police forces that would have assisted in detecting Mr. Pickton's activities, the family also alleged.

The internal RCMP report counters all the allegations. The RCMP ensured that Mr. Pickton was brought to the forefront as a suspect to the Vancouver Police Department, the two officers concluded.

Sharing information with other police agencies was not an issue, they said. "In fact, all of our interviews conducted with RCMP members suggested an excellent and co-operative working relationship between all parties involved," the report states. It also says that adequate resources were allocated to the missing women investigation.

The report's conclusions are in sharp contrast to more recent assessments of the RCMP investigation. In an internal e-mail last summer, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass stated that the Mounties did not pay close enough attention to Mr. Pickton in the years before his arrest.

Vancouver Deputy Chief Constable Doug LePard, who conducted an extensive review of the investigation for the police, concluded that Mr. Pickton could have been caught earlier, citing failings of both Vancouver police and the Coquitlam RCMP in pursuing leads. The report said the RCMP essentially abandoned the hunt for a serial killer in mid-1999.

RCMP spokesman Tim Shields said on Wednesday that the report, completed within three weeks in the fall of 2002, did not represent the RCMP's official position on the investigation.

The report also cited some critical remarks. Staff Sergeant Bradley Zalys said differences of opinion by experienced homicide investigators, lack of resources and other policing priorities reduced the impetus of the investigation. Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass said more than one serial killer was operating in the Lower Mainland.

The Joesbury family did not proceed with the lawsuit. A provincial inquiry has been called to look into the police investigation. Hearings have not yet been scheduled.

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