Complaints Concerning Police Conduct (5:V): Difference between revisions
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Complaints Concerning Police Conduct (5:V) (view source)
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Part 11 of 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 OPCC website at http://www.opcc.bc.ca, or see Part 11 of the ''Police Act''. | Part 11 of 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 OPCC website at http://www.opcc.bc.ca, or see Part 11 of the ''Police Act''. | ||
'''NOTE: | '''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 an individual wants to start a civil claim, it must be done '''within two years''' from when the harm was suffered or discovered. Before beginning a civil claim for police misconduct, the individual 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 '''2 years''' after the cause of action. | ||
For a more detailed discussion on launching civil claims against the police see '''Section V.D.2'''. | For a more detailed discussion on launching civil claims against the police see '''Section V.D.2'''. | ||