A Special Investigations Unit which oversees police work in the province of Ontario has had almost no response to over 100 letters sent to Toronto’s chief of police. The out-going head of the so-called SIU, Ian Scott has publicly lambasted Chief Blair noting that other police chiefs in the province have answered his letters.
By law Ontario police officers must co-operate with the SIU which was created to investigate serious injuries, death and sexual assaults involving them. The Special Investigations Unit is a civilian agency with its own professional investigators who have the same rights to look into cases as police investigators.
Officers have been sanctioned
SIU has charged 49 officers since Scott became director in October 2008. Among the charges were assault, sexual assault, dangerous driving causing death, criminal negligence causing death and manslaughter. Some of the cases are still before the courts. But of those that have been resolved, 19 ended with a withdrawal of the charges or acquittal of the officer and 11 officers pled guilty or were found guilty by the court.
After completing a case Scott usually sends a letter to the relevant police chief outlining his findings and reporting any problems his unit had investigating the case. “I say ‘look here’s a problem. There’s apparent breach of the regulation. Would you please look into it and provide me with a written response.’ It’s a way that I’m trying to…make sure that the investigations in future are going to be dealt with in a thorough and accountable manner.”
The approach has been successful with other chiefs but Blair has apparently only responded to one out of 106 letters Scott sent to him. What can he do about it?
Chiefs not currently obliged to respond
“Well that’s a very interesting question,” said Scott. “I really, with the powers of the SIU, I cannot do anything at this point.” Ontario’s ombudsman has suggested that when police chiefs are hired in future the terms of their employment should include a requirement that they answer the concerns raised by the director of the SIU. There’s even a suggestion there be criminal sanctions if they breach the SIU regulations.
“I’m hoping we don’t have to go that far,” said Scott. “What I’m trying to do through this letter-writing process is, in a voluntary way, to resolve these issues. And I have been successful with other police services but with Toronto I just don’t get a response.”
In spite of the difficulties with Toronto’s police chief, Scott thinks the SIU is working well and is “in the vanguard” of civilian oversight of the police in Canada and many countries of the world. He thinks problems can start when such bodies are initially set up.
Balancing oversight with police interests
“It often happens that when the legislation gets drafted a compromise takes place between effective civilian oversight of police forces and an attempt to mollify police interests and it can be a long, difficult road to effective civilian oversight,” Scott says.
“SIU has its problems…,” he says “But at the end of the day we are conducting, in my view, completely independent investigations of the most serious matters of agents of the state using force that can lead to injury and death and it does lead to charges being laid and it does lead to some convictions.”
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