Police complaint powers increased
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The B.C. government has reintroduced legislation to beef up the authority of the Police Complaints Commissioner.
The legislation is mainly the same as the one introduced before the spring election. It contains provisions to order municipal police officers under investigation to submit to interviews within five days of a request, and allows the commissioner to oversee complaints as they are being investigated instead of afterwards.
Abbotsford has a municipal police force.
Public Safety Minister Kash Heed said updates to the bill include new authority for the B.C. commissioner to work with his federal counterpart on investigations that involve the RCMP. B.C.’s Police Act covers municipal police forces, but 70 per cent of the province is policed by the RCMP.
Heed said he has asked federal Public Safety Minister Peter van Loan for a unified complaints commission that would treat all officers the same, but stopped short of promising that it would be done.
“I’m responsible whether it’s municipal or RCMP, and these are prudent steps we’re taking as we move forward to negotiate a contract with the RCMP for 2012,” Heed said. “So this is paramount in those negotiations.”
NDP public safety critic Mike Farnworth said he supports the general intent of the legislation, which follows recommendations made by former judge Joe Wood in a detailed review of the complaints procedure.
But he said the delay in the legislation allowed Heed to resign as chief of the West Vancouver Police and run as a B.C. Liberal candidate, while avoiding a review by B.C. Police Complaints Commissioner Stan Lowe into allegations made against him.
The complaint against Heed related to his discussion with a West Vancouver police board member about the pending arrest of someone who worked at the same firm as the board member.
Heed said Wood’s report did not recommend making changes retroactive. The complaint against him emerged after he resigned from West Vancouver and was dismissed by the local police board at the time, he said.
In July he asked the B.C. commissioner to look at it and that offer was declined because there was no new information, he said.
“It’s done,” Heed said.
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