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Difference between revisions of "Complaints Concerning Police Conduct (5:V)"

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{{LSLAP Manual TOC|expanded = complaints}}
{{LSLAP Manual TOC|expanded = complaints}}
== A. Introduction ==
LSLAP students will often be consulted by clients who are dissatisfied with the level of service given by the police. To assist students in advising such clients,  the following section outlines some of the informal and statutory procedures governing citizen complaints against police officers.
There are two main categories of police forces in BC: municipal police forces, which are governed by the BC ''Police Act'', RSBC 1996, c 367, and the RCMP, which is governed by the ''Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act'', RSC 1985, c R-10 [RCMPA]. The RCMP is the policing agency in all parts of BC not served by a municipal police force. Their status as the provincial police force is authorized under section 14 of the BC ''Police Act''. Municipal police forces and the RCMP will be  dealt with separately, as the complaint process for each is significantly different.
'''NOTE:''' In 2012 the province opened the Independent Investigations Office (“IIO”), an independent body that reviews police incidents of severe bodily harm or death. To begin an investigation, complaints are to be filed with the Police Complaint Commissioner, who forwards it to the IIO. For further information, please see: http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/policeservices/iio/index.htm
== B. Governing Legislation and Resources ==
=== 1. Legislation ===
''Police Act'', RSBC 1996, c 367.
''Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act'', RSC 1985, c R-10.
=== 2. Resources ===
need to add contacts info from p5-19
== C. Complaints Against a Member of a Municipal Police Force ==
=== 1. General Information ===
Filing a police complaint against a municipal police officer is different from filing a lawsuit against a municipal police officer. Generally speaking, complaints against a municipal police officer can only lead to the officer being disciplined, and do not compensate an individual for any loss they have  suffered. Filing a lawsuit against the police in civil court can lead to compensation if a person’s rights were violated, but does not necessarily lead to the officer being disciplined. Parallel actions can be launched if a client desires both compensation and disciplinary consequences for the officer involved in the incident.
The ''Police Act'' sets out a framework for dealing with public complaints about municipal police forces in BC. The Office of the Police Complaints  Commissioner (OPCC) was created as a body independent from all municipal police forces and government ministries. Complaints continue to be investigated by  police departments, but the Police Complaints Commissioner monitors how police departments investigate and conclude complaints throughout all the municipal  police areas. The process is outlined below. For further information and a more detailed description of the complaint process, please refer to the [http://www.opcc.bc.ca OPCC website] or see Part 11 of the ''Police Act''.
'''NOTE:''' Filing a police complaint, or waiting for the conclusion of criminal charges, does not extend the limitation period for filing a civil claim. If  the client wants to start a civil claim, it must be done two years from when the harm was suffered or discovered. Before beginning a civil claim for police  misconduct, the client must write a letter to the City Clerk’s office relating the time, location, and nature of the alleged misconduct. This letter must be  sent within 60 days of the cause of action (''Vancouver Charter'', SBC 1953, c 55, s 294). The letter provides the city with notice that a civil action will be filed, and allows a complainant to add the city as a party to the civil action at a later date. This letter does not start a complaint or a civil action in itself, but is a necessary first step that must be taken before launching a civil claim. If a letter has been sent to the City Clerk’s Office within 60 days,  the limitation date for filing a civil complaint is  years after the cause of action.
For a more detailed discussion on launching civil claims against the police see Section III.E.2.
'''NOTE:''' If a client is seeking a copy of their police record, they should make this request before filing a complaint. Otherwise they must wait until after the matter has been investigated. 
'''NOTE:''' Based on recommendations made in the February 2007 Report on the Review of the Police Complaint Process in BC by Josiah Wood, the ''Police Act'' was  amended and the new ''Police Act'' came into force on March 31, 2010. The OPCC website now provides an online complaint form to make the filing of complaints easier.
=== 2. The Complaint Process ===
A member of a municipal police department engages in misconduct when they commit an offence under any provincial or federal act that would render them unfit  to perform their duties or that would discredit the reputation of the municipal police department. For an exhaustive definition of misconduct, see section 77 of the ''Police Act''. 
Clients can make complaints about alleged misconduct by municipal police to the police complaint commissioner. The client does not need to have directly  witnessed the misconduct; complaints can be brought on behalf of someone or even by third-party complainants. The complaint must generally be made within  12 months of the misconduct, but if good reasons exist, and it is not contrary to the public interest, the police complaint commissioner can extend that period.
==== a) Step 1: Making a Complaint ====
There are two types of complaints: registered and non-registered. When someone submits a registered complaint, they will be kept informed about the investigation and  its  outcome,  and  they  have  a right  to  appeal  the  result. By  contrast,  someone submitting  a  non-registered  complaint  does  not  participate  any  further  in  the process and cannot appeal the outcome. 
The client can register a complaint by submitting it either directly to the  OPCC or to  an  on-duty  police  member  at  the  station  who  is  assigned  to  receive Police  Actcomplaints.  A  non-registered  complaint  can  be  submitted orally  to  any  on-duty member in the station or  on the road. Both  types  of  complaints  can  be  made  through  the  online  complaint  form  on  the OPCC website. b)Step 2: A dmissibility  Before investigating a complaint, the Commissioner must first determine whether it is  admissible.  A  complaint  is  admissible  if  it  is  made within  12  months  of  the incident,  is  not  frivolous  or  vexation,  and  contains  at least  one  allegation  that,  if proved,  would  constitute  misconduct  under  section  77  of  the Police  Act. Complainants  will  be contacted  to  tell  them  whether  their complaint  is  admissible or not. The Commissioner’ s determination of admissibility cannot be appealed. Once  the  Commissioner  determines  a  complaint  is  admissible,  they  will  send a notice  of  admissibility  to  the  complainant  and  to  the  chief  constable  of  the department  involved.  The  chief  constable  must  notify  the  member  or  former member  of  the  complaint  that  has  been  made  against  him  or  her,  appoint  an investigator  and,  depending  on  the  circumstances  of  the misconduct  alleged, determine whether the matter is suitable for informal resolution. NOTE: Complaints  about  a  municipal  police  department’ s  policies  or  about  the  services  it provides,  rather  than  about  a  particular  incident  of  misconduct,  may  still  be admissible  but  should  be  submitted  under  a  different  process.  Contact  the  OPCC office directly about these complaints.  c)Step 3: Informal Resolution or Mediation A  complaint  may  be  resolved  informally  at  any  time  before  or  during  an investigation  if  the  matter  is  suitable  and  the  complainant  and  the  police  officer agree in  writing  to  the  resolution.Informal  resolution  or  mediation  is a  voluntary, confidential  process  that  provides  a  non-confrontational  opportunity  for  both parties  to  talk  to  each  other  and  hear  how  their  actions affected  the  other.  If  a complainant  does  not  want  to  meet  the  police  officer  face  to  face,  a  neutral  third party  or  professional  mediator  can  facilitate  and  help  the  parties  reach  an agreement.  Within 10  business  days  after  agreeing  to  the  proposed  informal resolution,  either  party  may  revoke  agreement  by  notifying  the  relevant  discipline authority or the Commissioner in writing.  If a complainant strongly objects to his or her complaint being informally resolved, and  would  prefer  it  be  investigated  immediately,  he  or  she  should  let  the  OPCC know  and  provide  reasons. Common  reasons  include  fear  of  intimidation  by  the officer,  the  wish  to  have  it  formally  investigated  and  substantiated,  and  a  lack  of time to participate in an informal process due to economic or other circumstances. Usually  this  objection  is  sufficient  to  move  the  complaint  directly  to  the investigation step.
5-22A  complaint  may  also  be  resolved  by  mediation.  If  the  Police  Complaint Commissioner  agrees,  a  professional  mediator  may  be  appointed  to  assist  the complainant and the officer in resolving the complaint. The mediator is selected by the administrator of the BC Mediator’ s Roster and is completely independent from any police department or the OPCC.  d)Step 4: Investigation An  investigation  into  a  misconduct  complaint  is  usually  conducted  by  the originating department’ s Professional Standards Section. The Commissioner may, ifthe  circumstances  require,  order  that  an  external  police  agency  conduct  the investigation.  The  OPCC  will  assign  the  file  to  an  analyst,  who  will  oversee  the investigation conducted by  the Professional Standards investigator and ensure that the  investigation  is  thorough,  impartial,  and  completed in  a  timely  manner.  All investigations must be completed within six months. During the investigation, the complainant  and  member  will  be  periodically  updated  about  the  investigation’ s progress. At the conclusion of the investigation, the investigator will submit a final investigation  report  to  the  discipline  authority,  who  will  then  decide  whether  the allegations are substantiated and, if so, propose corrective or disciplinary measures. What  happens  next  in  the  process  depends  on  whether  the allegations  are substantiated or not.  e)If the Complaint Is Substantiated (1)Pre-Hearing Conference If  the  discipline  authority  decides  that  the  allegation  of  misconduct  is substantiated and merits disciplinary or corrective measures, the discipline authority  may  conduct  a  confidential  prehearing  conference  with  the police  officer,  if  doing  so  is  not  contrary  to  the  public  interest.  At  the hearing,  the  officer  has  an  opportunity  admit  the  misconduct  and  accept disciplinary  or  corrective  measures.  If  the  officer  and the  discipline authority at the prehearing conference agree on disciplinary measures, and the  Commissioner  gives  his  or  her  approval,  the  matter  is  considered resolved. This resolution is final and cannot be reviewed by a court on any ground.  (2)Disciplinary Proceeding If  a  prehearing  conference  is  not  held,  or  if  it  does not  result  in  a resolution of each allegation of misconduct against the police officer, the discipline  authority  must  convene  a  disciplinary  proceeding  to  determine appropriate disciplinary or corrective measures, within 40 business days of receiving  the  final  investigation  report.  However,  the discipline  authority must cancel this proceeding if the Commissioner arranges a public hearing about                        the                        impugned                        conduct. The  complainant  must  receive  at  least  15  days’  notice  of  a  disciplinary proceeding. The complainant may provide written or oral submissions  in advance of the hearing but cannot actually attend the proceeding. The  discipline  authority  must,  if  appropriate, choose  measures  to  correct
5-23and educate officers rather than measures intended to blame and punish. Unless  the  Police Complaints  Commissioner  orders  a  public hearing,  the resolution is final. f)If the Complaint Is Not Substantiated  (1)Retired Judge Previously,  only  a  police  commissioner  would  review  the  file.  However, complainants  can  now  request  that  the  Commissioner  appoint  a  retired judge  to  review  the  file  and  determine  whether  or  not  the  decision  was correct.  The  complainant  must  make  the  request  in  writing  within 10 business  days  of  receiving  the  discipline  authority’ s  decision.  It  is  now common to have a retired judge review the file in less serious cases. Note that  there  is  a  more  realistic  chance  of  success  when  the  commission appoints a retired judge. For further information, please see: http://www.opcc.bc.ca.  g)Public HearingThe  Office  of  the  Police  Complaint  Commissioner  (“OPCC”) can  order  public hearings  into  matters  involving  misconduct  by  municipal  police  officers  in  British Columbia.  After  the  investigation  into  the  complaint has  concluded,  the complainant or the police officer may request a public hearing within 20 business days of receiving notice of the decision, or the OPCC may initiate a public hearing itself  if a public  hearing  is  necessary  in  the  public  interest.  In Florkow  v  British Columbia  (Police  Complaint  Commissioner),  2013  BCCA  92,  the  BC  Court  of  Appeal found  that  under  the  current Police  Act  the  OPCC  can  only  hold  a  public  hearing after  certain  stages  of  the  complaint  process —  after  the  discipline  authority  has concluded its investigation, after the retired judge has reviewed the file, or after the disciplinary proceeding. (1)Test for Ordering Public Hearing In deciding whether such a hearing is necessary in the public interest, the Police  Complaints  Commissioner  must  consider  all  relevant  factors, including: the nature and seriousness of the complaint; the  nature  and  seriousness  of  the  alleged  harm  caused  by  the  police officer,  including  whether  the  officer’ s  conduct  has  undermined public confidence in the police or its disciplinary processes; whether a public hearing would assist in ascertaining the truth; whether  a  case  can  be  made  that  the  investigation  was  flawed,  the proposed  disciplinary  measures  are  inappropriate, or  the  discipline authority incorrectly interpreted the law.


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