Key recommendations from OIPRD review

Here are some of the key recommendations from the OIPRD’s systemic review of Thunder Bay Police Services (TBPS).

A public and formal acknowledgement “that racism exists at all levels within the police service and it will not tolerate racist views or actions”;

The formation of a multidisciplinary investigation team that will reinvestigate the sudden deaths of at least nine Indigenous people, whose cases were found by the OIPRD to be probed inadequately;

The implementation of an “external peer-review process” for at least three years, where all sudden death and homicide investigations in Thunder Bay are reviewed by experienced investigators from external police services;

The establishment of a Major Crimes Unit that complies with provincial standards and best practices, staffed by officers with appropriate training and experience;

The addition of at least three more officers to TBPS’s Aboriginal Liaison Unit and fully integrating their roles into additional areas of the service;

Working with experts, Indigenous leaders, elders and the Indigenous Justice Division of the Ministry of the Attorney General to design and implement mandatory Indigenous cultural competency and antiracism training, which will be “ongoing throughout the career of a TBPS officer or employee”;

Focusing proactively on actions to eliminate systemic racism, including the removal of systemic barriers and the root causes of racial inequalities in the service;

Requiring that officers disclose potential evidence of police misconduct;

Implementing in-car and body-worn cameras, as well as mandating that all police officers wear name tags on the front of their uniforms;

Undertaking initiatives in collaboration with First Nations police services that allow Thunder Bay police officers to train or work with First Nations police services and visit remote communities;

Implementing psychological testing that will eliminate applicants with racist views or attitudes;

Increasing diversity within the service, with “prominence given to Indigenous candidates”;

A requirement that TBPS provide reports to the OIPRD with updates on its progress in implementing the report’s 44 recommendations;

That TBPS publicly disclose data on sudden death investigations involving Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.