OFF THE WIRE
Charlotte Prong Parkhill
http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/
Number of police complaints increase in 2010
Substantial changes made in dealing with complaints
Waterloo Regional Police received 100 complaints in 2010, up from 82 in 2009.
However, it’s difficult to draw a comparison between the two years, because substantial changes were made to the way police complaints are dealt with in the province.
Some of those changes made it easier to file a complaint. Third-party complaints are now allowed, as well as the ability to file online.
Of the 100 complaints, 23 are still under investigation, while 48 were found to be unsubstantiated.
Two allegations of serious misconduct resulted in Police Services Act hearings.
According to Staff Sgt. Paul Driedger of the service’s professional standards department, in one case an officer breached confidentiality using the Canadian Police Information Centre, a database of crime and criminals.
That constable was given a one-class demotion for six months.
In the other, evidence in a fraud investigation had been mishandled. The penalty for the officer in that case will be determined in an upcoming final hearing.
The case of the officer who shot a man several times at a Waterloo apartment last March is not included in the complaints report, because it was reviewed separately by the province’s Special Investigations Unit.
"The shooting was fully cleared by the SIU, and it didn’t require anything else on our part, or on the officer’s part,” Driedger said. “That officer continues to receive regular use-of-force training along with everybody else.”
There were 23 car chases in 2010, according to the service’s annual pursuit statistics – the same number as in 2009, and about half the number of 2008. The decrease is due to continued training and adoption of other techniques, said Insp. Barry Zehr. All officers had refresher training in 2009, and will go through the course again this year, along with all of communications and dispatch staff.
“Our alternative procedures are more effective,” he said. “We hear a lot more about officers who are able to stop vehicles without engaging in pursuits.”
The 23 pursuits this year led to 95 charges being laid and two cruisers involved in minor collisions.
Both times, the cruisers were hit after the driver being chased fled on foot, leaving the car in gear.
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