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Vancouver Sun - British Columb
01 October 2007

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Oversight of police must balan

The importance of a fair and effective police complaint process cannot be overemphasized. There is an inextricable link between democracy, the rule of law and police accountability.

Access to information in the police complaint process is a complex subject. Solutions will not be found in easy slogans. Public access to information is indeed a critical part of ensuring an accountable complaints process. But there are other significant interests that need to be balanced under the Police Act.

There are the privacy interests of police officers who cannot be presumed guilty merely because a complaint has been made. There are the privacy interests of complainants who may be less likely to come forward without a reasonable expectation of privacy. There is also the need to ensure the effectiveness and integrity of Police Act investigations. The legislators have sought to balance these interests in four key ways.

First, the Police Act states that the police complaint process is one of those exceptional areas where the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act should have limited application. Where information pertains to alleged misconduct by an individual officer, special information and privacy rules have been legislated in the Police Act in place of usual FOI rules.

Second, the Police Act's information and privacy regime emphasizes the role of the Police Complaint Commissioner in ensuring that the police complaint process is accountable to an independent civilian authority. While it might undermine the privacy and other interests described earlier to allow general public access to complaint information, the Police Act provides the safeguard of ensuring that the Police Complaint Commissioner has unfettered access to police complaint files in order to exercise oversight functions in the public interest. My status as an independent officer of the legislature -- independent of both the police and the government -- is critical to ensuring that I can exercise this function effectively.

Third, my role as Police Complaint Commissioner allows me to bring complaint information directly into the public domain in several ways. I publish annual reports. I publish anonymized case summaries and statistics. I publish key reasons for decision on my website. I can arrange a public hearing under the Police Act for any complaint matter that gives me sufficient grounds to believe a public hearing is necessary in the public interest. I can also provide the parties to complaints -- complainants and respondents -- additional information when that information is necessary for them to pursue rights under the Police Act.

Finally, the Police Act grants defined information rights to the parties to a complaint -- the person who lodged the complaint (the complainant) and the police officer alleged to have committed misconduct (the respondent). The Police Act contemplates that both parties will typically receive summaries of key documents such as the final investigation report. If a complainant is a "third party complainant" -- a person who complained but is not personally adversely affected by the misconduct alleged -- that complainant is not entitled to any information, other than to be told of the results of any discipline proceedings or criminal charges.

The balance between access to information on the one hand, and privacy and investigative interests on the other, was recently considered in an extensive review of the Police Act undertaken by Josiah Wood. His report includes several recommendations aimed at enhancing public access to the police complaint process. These include:

- Relaxing present restrictions on the rights of third-party complainants.

- Granting parties to the complaint the full investigation report, subject to editing of sensitive law enforcement information and information exempted from disclosure under general FOI legislation.

- Legislating a more streamlined and cost-efficient procedure for challenging disciplinary decisions, in addition to public hearings.

Wood wisely observed that effective civilian oversight is not just about access to information; it is also about the timing of such access. In this regard, he has recommended that my office be given "real time" access to complaint investigations.

The B.C. government should act upon these timely and necessary recommendations.

Dirk Ryneveld is British Columbia's police complaint commissioner; Frank Falzon is legal counsel to the commissioner.

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Vancouver Sun - British Columb01 October 2007

Oversight of police must balan

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Vancouver Sun - British Columb
01 October 2007