Some key recommendations from review of police oversight in Ontario

TORONTO — A wide-ranging review of police oversight in Ontario has examined the province’s three oversight agencies — the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) and the Ontario Civilian Police Commission and has made 129 recommendations. Here are some of the key measures suggested:

— Make coroner inquests mandatory when police kill someone through use of force.

— The government should ensure effective whistleblower protections for officers.

— Legislate when police must call in the SIU and officers’ obligations to co-operate with it.

— Force police to notify the SIU any time an officer fires at a person.

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— Give the SIU the power to lay criminal charges on its own.

— Require the SIU to report publicly on all its investigations.

— Give the OIPRD power to investigate officer misconduct without a formal complaint.

— OIPRD should be able to lay disciplinary charges.

— Officers should be required by law to co-operate with OIPRD investigations.

— Police discipline hearings should fall to a reworked Ontario Civilian Police Commission.

— Independent prosecutors and adjudicators should handle public complaints.

— Oversight bodies should develop greater social and cultural competency and collect demographic data.

SOURCE: Independent Police Oversight Review, The Canadian Press.

The Canadian Press