New complaints body will handcuff police

North Bay police chief George Berrigan says he’s “concerned” about the Ontario governments intention to revamp the police complaint system.

Attorney-General Michael Bryant told the Toronto Star Thursday the province will pass legislation this year to end the practice of police investigating themselves.

“Civilian oversight, to be effective, has got to be independent and transparent, so we have got to set up civilian oversight that is independent from the government and police ... that people can have confidence in," Bryant told Star Queen’s Park reporter Richard Brennan.

But Berrigan said no other profession currently receives as
much scrutiny as policing.

“I will draw a parallel to public complaints involving lawyers, doctors, engineers or teachers,” Berrigan said.

“By comparison police officers are excruciatingly publicly accountable.”

Bureaucratic boondoggle
Berrigan wondered if another bureaucratic layer was necessary “in this day and age when the costs of policing are becoming so expensive.”

He’s concerned the province will be returning to the days of the Public Complaints Commission that, Berrigan said, “was a bureaucratic boondoggle that did little to instill the public confidence in the police.”

Right now reviews of civilian complaints against police are handled the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services.

Berrigan said he agrees there are issues with the commission that should be resolved.

“But these are not issues that relate to the law. They are issues that relate to common sense, the interpretation of the law by the civilian commission, and the selection of the commission members.”

Better than 10 years ago
Still, as much as Berrigan has issues with the commission, he said it’s better “than where we were 10 years ago.”

During that time, Berrigan said, the North Bay Police Service processed between 60 and 70 public complaints a year, and required a full time staff member just for that task.

“We now do between 10 and 25,” Berrigan said.

“Also keep in mind the Special Investigations Unit is thriving. They are the unit that investigates incidents that involve serious injury that involve the police.”

Fueled by minority groups
Sgt. Mike Tarini, president of the North Bay Police Association, said the news out of Toronto is “a huge concern for our members” and will “handcuff” the ability of officers to do their jobs.

“I can just see Mr. Criminal being arrested downtown and charged, and prior to leaving the police station he launches a police complaint, saying he’ll drop it if the police withdraw their charges,” Tarini said.

“That’s extortion, and of real concern is that our officers won’t be in a position to do their sworn duty, to protect lives.”

More than anything, Tarini said, the proposed new commission has been fueled “by minority groups” in Toronto.

“It’s a spin-off to their accusations of racial profiling.”