Police watchdog sees uptick in cases
Special Investigations Unit annual report shows increase in investigations and officers hit with charges in 2016
Ontario’s police watchdog saw a slight increase in the number of cases it opened and the number of officers it charged with crimes in 2016, according to its annual report released Thursday.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which probes police-involved deaths, serious injuries and allegations of sexual assault, opened 327 cases in 2016, up from 312 in 2015 — a 5-per-cent increase.
Among the 296 cases it closed in 2016 — which includes cases opened prior to that year — the agency laid charges in 17 cases against 20 police officers. This number is up from 16 officers charged by the SIU in 2015.
Of those 296 cases, 113 were closed by “memo,” meaning the SIU received information at the early stage of an investigation that the incident does not actually fall under SIU jurisdiction.
“Examples of such incidents include investigations in which it becomes evident early on that the injury was not directly or indirectly caused by the actions of a police officer,” the report states.
“In these instances, the SIU director exercises his/her discretion and ‘terminates’ all further SIU involvement, filing a memo to that effect with the attorney general.”
The 2016-17 report was made public just two months after the 2015-16 annual report was released. The Star previously reported the release of that document had been delayed by nine months. The SIU said at the time the 2015-16 report was delayed due to “a number of resource and production-related factors.”
The report released Thursday is the first to not indicate the number of SIU cases closed within 30 days, a practice the watchdog has done away with.
The SIU — which has often faced criticism for the length of its investigations — had instituted a performance standard in the 1990s to close 65 per cent of its cases within 30 business days.
But in two previous annual reports, from 2014-15 and 2015-16, the number was only 33 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively.
This is in stark contrast to the final two reports under previous director Ian Scott’s tenure, when the agency closed 73 per cent of cases within 30 days in 2012-13 and 71 per cent in the 2011-12 period.
The annual report released Thursday indicates that the average number of days to close cases in 2016 was 110.8 days.
SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon told the Star that every year, cases become more complex and require more time to investigate.
“As well, with the increased prevalence of cellphone video, security video, dash cam video, automated vehicle location (AVL) data and other new forms of technology, the requirements and time needed to analyze such evidence has multiplied,” she said.
“It is important to note that each investigation is different, with its own require- ments for evidence-gathering and analysis. The unit concludes each investigation once all the relevant evidence and data has been collected and analyzed, no matter how many days have passed.”
In a sweeping review of Ontario’s police oversight bodies, Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch recommended this year that the SIU aim to conclude its investigations within 120 days.
When it cannot, the SIU should report to the public at that time and every 60 days after, he said.
In addition, Tulloch recommended the creation of a deputy director position to speed up closing rates by easing the workload on the SIU director, who is currently the only person responsible for making the decision to lay a criminal charge.
The Ministry of the Attorney General is currently reviewing the more than 100 recommendations from Tulloch’s report, released in April.
Hudon, of the SIU, said concluding investigations within 120 days would require more resources for the agency. With files from Wendy Gillis