‘Open-by-default’ process pledged in police oversight
The province says it will release past and future Special Investigations Unit reports on fatal interactions between police and members of the public.
The pledge came only an hour after a long-awaited review of police oversight was released on Thursday. Justice Michael Tulloch, an Ontario Court of Appeal judge, spent almost a year looking at the three civilian agencies charged with overseeing police in Ontario with a view to enhancing the agencies’ efficiency and credibility.
They included the Special Investigations Unit, a police watchdog that has been notoriously secretive about past probes into serious injuries, deaths and sexual assaults alleged to have been perpetrated by police officers.
Tulloch’s 263-page report has 129 recommendations, among them more transparency around the work of those who police the police and mandatory coroner’s inquests whenever someone dies in a police shooting or through other use of force.
He also recommended legislating when police must call in the SIU and obliging officers to co-operate with the agency. The SIU should be notified any time an officer fires a weapon at a person — regardless of the outcome — and it should have the power to lay charges on its own.
The review also recommended encouraging officers to raise concerns about the conduct of their colleagues by ensuring effective whistleblower protections to allow internal complaints “without fear of reprisal.”
“Police oversight, the police and the communities they serve are inextricably intertwined. Modern policing, after all, is founded on public trust,” said Tulloch, who heard from more than 1,500 people in 18 public consultations and at more than 130 private meetings.
Attorney General Yasir Naqvi said the status quo must change to strengthen public confidence in policing, “and a big part of that will be taking an open-by-default approach.
“Justice Tulloch’s recommendations will be our government’s guide as we immediately begin building a more open, transparent and accountable police oversight system in Ontario that has the full confidence of both the police and the public they serve,” Naqvi said in a statement.
About 120 reports from the past 10 years involving deaths and police interactions are to be posted online by December, with the remaining reports to be released by June 2018.
Meanwhile, Naqvi’s ministry will establish a telephone hotline by May 1 for requests for the release of all other past reports from the past 10 years. That adds up to about 3,110 additional reports based on investigations into serious injuries, sexual assaults, and other fatalities such as suicides, vehicular deaths and accidental deaths with no connection to police. Some limitations will apply.
The province also committed to a number of other measures. These include giving the government the authority to mandate the collection of race-based data to combat systemic racism, and working with police oversight bodies to increase cultural competency, including indigenous cultural competence, through training and targeted recruitment.
The review recommended that the three agencies develop greater social and cultural competency and be tasked with collecting demographic data such as gender, age, race, religion and ethnicity. Tulloch said data collection offers many benefits, including supporting evidence-based public policy and decision-making and promoting accountability and transparency.
The province also pledged to introduce legislation this fall that will remove police oversight bodies from the Police Services Act and create stand-alone legislation.
However, both Tulloch’s review and the province’s response contained limitations on the release of information. Although the review calls for reporting publicly on all SIU investigations, including providing detailed accounts in cases in which no charges are laid against an officer, it did not recommend identifying an officer unless charges are laid, as is the case with civilians.
The province also echoed Tulloch’s advice regarding privacy considerations involving SIU reports.
The review recommends releasing all past reports about cases in which a person died, subject to the privacy interests of the deceased’s family. When it comes to past reports, Tulloch also recommended the attorney general release the report if it is requested by the affected person, or a family member of the affected person, or if it is requested by an individual when there is significant public interest in the incident. This would be subject to the privacy interests of the affected person or the affected person’s family.
SIU director Tony Loparco said the agency needs time to “carefully consider” the report before commenting further.
“I am committing the SIU to take the steps required to implement the recommendations that may be legislated,” Loparco said in a statement.
The Police Association of Ontario said it was pleased some of its recommendations are in Tulloch’s report.
“A complaint or investigation against a police officer is a serious matter. Ensuring the oversight process is fair and effective is essential to maintaining community safety,” association president Bruce Chapman said in a news release. “The PAO and its members support a strong, effective system for police oversight in Ontario. But the system must continue to treat police officers fairly throughout the course of a complaint.
“Even when actions of the police officers are found to be justified by the oversight bodies, the months and years of investigation leading up to that conclusion, and media coverage associated with it, can be very stressful for the families of the person involved in an incident as well as the police officer.”
Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau was not available to comment Thursday. The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, of which Bordeleau is the president, said it will review the recommendations.
“During our conversations and meetings, the OACP consistently stated that there are gaps in the current oversight system,” the association said in a statement.
Coun. Eli El-Chantiry, chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board, said he was pleased with the recommendations, especially making SIU reports publicly available.
“These changes are fundamental to the people when it comes to a safer Ontario,” he said. “We need to go back and regain the trust of the community.”
He said he also appreciates a series of recommendations about mandatory training for members of police boards. As it stands, the City of Ottawa holds an orientation session and has a manual for board members and offers training in matters such as procedure and legal responsibilities.