Changes to the Police Complaints System in Ontario
06/28/2019, by: OIPRD Admin
Ontario’s police oversight system is
changing.
The Community Safety and Policing Act, which received Royal Assent on March 26, 2019,will impact the Office of the Independent Police Review Director in several ways. However, we remain committed to our mandate to effectively manage and oversee public complaints about police and to help maintain trust between officers and the communities they serve.
Several of the key changes for the OIPRD:
- The OIPRD will be renamed the
Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA) and the Independent Police Review
Director will become the Complaints Director.
- The new agency will receive and
manage conduct complaints involving sworn police officers as well as special
constables employed by the Niagara Parks Commission and the Peace Officers of
the Legislative Protective Service.
- Policy and service complaints
will all be referred to the newly created Inspector General, as will complaints
about police services board members.
- First Nations Police services will
be able to opt-in to the public complaints process.
- The Complaints Director will conduct
the investigations of public complaints about police chiefs and deputy chiefs,
the OPP Commissioner, deputy commissioners and peace officers of the
Legislative Protective Service, and any other complaints determined to be in
the public interest.
- All other complaints will be
referred back to either the police service from which they originated or
another police service.
- The Complaints Director will
have the power to initiate an investigation into an incident even if there is
no public complaint.
- All investigations are expected
to be completed within 120 days.
- The Complaints Director will
continue to conduct systemic reviews
- The Ontario Police Arbitration
and Adjudication Commission will be created and will be responsible for
conducting disciplinary hearings. The Commission will also be responsible for
posting hearing decisions to a public website.
These changes will come into effect once
the legislation has been proclaimed.
You can find a copy of the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019,
online at: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/19c01
For more information about the passing of
the CSPA go to: https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/current
