THUNDER BAY - In the first quarter of 2018, Thunder Bay Police Service received a total of 16 conduct complaints, nine of which are currently under investigation.
The Thunder Bay Police Services board heard on Tuesday that the period covers the months of January, February, March, and April and while Neil Herman, acting inspector in the corporate services branch of the Thunder Bay Police Service, said this is on par with past years, acting police chief, Sylvie Hauth, said the last two years have been a little more outside the norm.
“The complaints in the quarter are similar to what they are throughout the year,” Herman said. “They are fairly consistent from year to year. We do see some flux depending on the year. Generally they remain pretty consistent.”
The complaints filed include one customer service resolution requests, six that were not accepted, six accepted for the Office of the Independent Police Review director to investigate, and three accepted for the Thunder Bay Police Service to investigate.
All the complaints received fall under police conduct, which can include neglect of duty, unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority, and service policy complaints.
There were also eight complaints from 2017 and one from 2016 that were concluded in the first quarter of 2018. This included two Police Service Act hearings for Const. Rob Steudle and Const. Kyle Kehler and Const. Kyla Rutherford.
However, there are five remaining complaints from 2017 and four from 2016 that are still being investigated.
“Our responsibility, for example in a public complaint to the OIPRD, is to have the complaint completed in 120 days,” Herman said. “When they are retained, depending on the complexity of the investigation, we are seeing some into a year or a year and a half.”
Herman also outlined several possible changes to the OIPRD and how complaints will be investigated due to upcoming legislation in Bill 175 or the Safer Ontario Act, which is expected to take effect in 2020.
The bill will see the OIPRD changed to the Ontario Police Complaint Agency and Hauth said there will be an increase in staff at the agency, but that will not necessarily equal local services investigating fewer complaints.
“For us it’s to stay tuned and see what the impacts will be for all policing services in Ontario, and really look at how those impacts will influence not just staffing issues but also the number of complaints coming our way to be investigated,” Hauth said. “It’s really a matter of seeing what the layout of the OIPRD will be. There will still be the caveat that certain investigations will go for local investigations. It may still mean our numbers are just as high.”
During the Police Board meeting, members questioned the amount of time officers spend on complaint investigations and if any provincial funding is available. Currently, the professional standards unit is made up of two sworn officers and one civilian member.
“Should we do a costing over the last three or five years on what this will cost us?” asked member Joe Virdiramo. “Because it is in 2020, it will give us time to approach the government for funding.”
Hauth said there are several investigations that have involved a longer than normal process and she does not think 2017 or 2018 could be considered standard years in terms of legal fees or investigation fees.
“The process has taken quite longer than usual both from the OIPRD standpoint and just the process itself,” Hauth said. “There are additional costs related to some of those investigative process for discipline matters, so those are a little more extraordinary if you want to call it for the last two years.”
Of the outstanding complaints still being investigated, Herman said several are serious in nature. Herman confirmed that one officer is on suspension relating to an outstanding complaint and is awaiting a deposition.
