SIU Moves Forward on Ombudsman's Recommendations
MISSISSAUGA, ON,
"I am pleased to announce that the Unit has made significant strides in responding to the Ombudsman's report," said
Director Scott noted, "When the Ombudsman issued his report last September, we said his recommendations would be carefully considered and pledged to take action. We have done so."
Highlights of the Unit's progress include:
- A more formal process to monitor, record and deal with instances of
police non-compliance with regulatory requirements (Ombudsman
recommendations 1-3)
- A reformed dispatch procedure and the use of BlackBerrys by
investigative staff to facilitate a continuous call-out of
investigators in order to improve response times to scenes (Ombudsman
recommendation 4)
- News releases issued in more cases with more detail in an effort to
improve responsiveness to the public and affected persons (Ombudsman
recommendation 21)
Though the Ombudsman was careful in his report to point out at paragraph 323 that his office was "...unable to find any objective evidence that any individual case had been tainted by improper motives," he expressed concern about public perceptions regarding the work of the Unit. Director Scott said, "While I am confident in the professionalism and impartiality of the Unit's work, I appreciate that perceptions are important and that is why we have taken significant steps on this front as well." These steps include:
- Funding for an outreach coordinator secured and the position filled
in May 2009
- Persons without police backgrounds now represented within
investigative management under the auspices of the recently
implemented Acting Investigative Supervisor program
- Two new investigative trainee positions created and filled by
investigators without police background
Commenting on the Ombudsman's recommendations 13 - 15, dealing with the timing and venue of witness officer interviews, Director Scott said, "I agree with the Ombudsman that witnesses should be interviewed quickly. And I intend to exercise my authority under the regulations to suspend a witness officer's entitlement to either legal or association representation if its fulfillment would lead to an unreasonable delay. However, it is an equally important principle that investigators be equipped with the discretion to chart a course for their investigations. The more pressing issue in my view is that the police officers write up their notes of the incident in an independent and contemporaneous fashion."
The Ombudsman is presently conducting a follow up investigation into the implementation of the recommendations and the Unit looks forward to his second report.
To read the backgrounder and the six-month progress report to the
Ombudsman, dated March 31, 2009, please visit the SIU's website at
www.siu.on.ca.
The SIU is a civilian agency that investigates cases of serious injuries (including allegations of sexual assault) and deaths involving the police. Pursuant to section 113 of the Police Services Act, the Director of the SIU is mandated to consider whether a criminal offence has been committed by an officer(s) in connection with the incident under investigation and, where warranted by the evidence, to cause a criminal charge or charges to be laid against the officer(s). The Director reports the results of investigations to the Attorney General.
Backgrounder
MISSISSAUGA (October 5, 2009) The Ombudsman's recommendations directed at
the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) can be organized into three general
categories: operational effectiveness, credibility and responsiveness.
Operational Effectiveness (Ombudsman recommendations 1-8, 13-20 and 24)
SIU progress:
- A more formal process for tracking and dealing with cases of delayed
notification and other instances of police non-compliance with
regulatory requirements has been implemented. For example, problems
with police compliance are now routinely documented in Director's
Reports to the Attorney General and in correspondence with Chiefs of
Police and the OPP Commissioner. The Director has pursued these
issues in dialogue with police leaders and is committed to concerted
action to address these matters as they occur. For example, on
May 21, 2009, the Director made a presentation to the Toronto Police
Services Board dealing with police cooperation issues;
- The use of BlackBerrys has been incorporated within a reformed
dispatch procedure to ensure continuous, as opposed to intermittent,
call-out of investigators to incident scenes.
- The Director has affirmed the Unit's commitment to responding quickly
to notifications save for exceptional circumstances.
- The closest investigators in the vicinity of an incident who are
available to respond at the time of a notification will be
dispatched, regardless of cost considerations. Having reviewed the
Unit's motor vehicle policy, the Director is not persuaded that
assigning a vehicle to investigators on a full-time basis will
materially improve response times.
- The Unit's current First Nations Liaison and most of its classified
investigators have received specialized sexual assault investigation
training. This training will continue to be offered to all staff. It
remains the Unit's practice to deploy investigators with expertise in
this area to investigations of sexual assault complaints.
- While affirming its commitment to interview witness officers quickly,
the Director is reluctant to tie the hands of investigators with any
hard and fast rules relating to timing and venue. The exercise of
discretion by investigators in mapping out their investigations is an
essential part of investigations and depends on the circumstances of
each case. The Unit will be vigilant to ensure this discretion is
exercised reasonably and the Director has pledged to support his
staff to ensure timely witness officer interviews by, for example,
suspending an officer's entitlement to legal or association
representation if the interview would otherwise be unreasonably
delayed.
- An even more important issue relates to the notes of the involved
officers. The Director has taken a keen interest in ensuring that the
notes of involved officers are written contemporaneously to the
incident and independent of any outside influences. He made a
presentation on this issue to the Toronto Police Services Board on
May 21, 2009.
- In order to safeguard the Unit's commitment to investigative
excellence in an era of record high caseloads (299 occurrences in
fiscal year 2008-2009), the Unit has expanded its complement of
investigators who work out of the Unit's Mississauga headquarters and
those stationed off-site. For example, earlier this year, eight
additional off-site investigators were hired and put through the
Unit's orientation program.
- The Director fully intends to seek further resources from the
Ministry of the Attorney General if necessary in order to address the
Ombudsman's recommendations.
Credibility (Ombudsman recommendations 9-12)
SIU progress:
- An outreach coordinator position was filled in May 2009. It is
responsible for public education about the SIU and will assist in
dispelling inaccurate information and perceptions about the Unit.
- Two new investigative trainee positions created and filled by
investigators with no police background. These are classified
positions and the individuals work out of the Unit's headquarters in
Mississauga.
- Persons without police backgrounds now represented within
investigative management with the recent implementation of the Acting
Supervisor Program, whereby classified investigators are invited to
spend a six-month rotation as an acting supervisor. The program is
slated to run for two years and will accommodate four investigators.
Three investigators have been selected so far for entry into the
program, none of who are former police officers. The program may be
extended beyond the two-year period.
- The Director has unequivocally directed staff to refrain from wearing
or otherwise displaying symbols that demonstrate former police
membership or which suggest they identify with police.
- The SIU has affirmed its commitment to hiring through open
competitions and the Director has indicated he intends to have police
and community representation on hiring panels in the next selection
process for investigative staff.
Responsiveness (Ombudsman recommendations 21-23)
SIU progress:
- The Unit is legally prohibited from disclosing Director's Reports;
however, in an effort to improve our responsiveness to the public and
affected persons, the Unit is issuing news releases in more cases
with greater detail and engaging in record levels of outreach. The
Unit has also hired an outreach coordinator to increase the reach and
effectiveness of its outreach efforts.
- The Director has affirmed his commitment to highlighting current and
emerging policing issues of public interest in upcoming annual
reports. As well, in some instances, issues are noted in press
releases. The most recent example is an issue with OPP police
officers' note taking in the fatal shooting of Levi Schaeffer in the
Pickle Lake region.
To read the news release and the six-month progress report to the
Ombudsman, dated March 31, 2009, please visit the SIU's website at
www.siu.on.ca.
The SIU is a civilian agency that investigates cases of serious injuries (including allegations of sexual assault) and deaths involving the police. Pursuant to section 113 of the Police Services Act, the Director of the SIU is mandated to consider whether a criminal offence has been committed by an officer(s) in connection with the incident under investigation and, where warranted by the evidence, to cause a criminal charge or charges to be laid against the officer(s). The Director reports the results of investigations to the Attorney General.
For further information: Monica Hudon, SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES, Telephone/No de telephone: (416) 622-2342 or/ou 1-800-787-8529
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