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Richard  Rosenthal  Chief  Civilian  Director  

Tuesday,  September  25,  2012  

Independent  Inves*ga*ons  

•  The  Independent  InvesBgaBons  Office  (IIO)  has  jurisdicBon  over  incidents  in  B.C.  involving  on-­‐duty  and  off-­‐duty  municipal  police  and  the  RCMP  that  result  in  serious  harm  or  death  

•  The  IIO  also  has  jurisdicBon  over  on-­‐duty  Special  Provincial  Constables  

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Defining  ‘Serious  Harm’  

•  Part  11  of  the  Police  Act  defines  Serious  Harm  as:  – “Injury  that:  

a)  may  result  in  death,  

b)  may  cause  serious  disfigurement,  or  c)  may  cause  substanBal  loss  or  impairment  of  mobility  

of  the  body  as  a  whole  or  of  the  funcBon  of  any  limb  or  organ”    

The  CCD  and  IIO  Inves*gators  

•  The  CCD  is  not  permiVed  to  have  ever  served  as  a  police  officer  

•  The  CCD  and  IIO  invesBgators  have  “all  of  the  powers,  duBes  and  immuniBes  of  a  peace  officer  and  constable  at  common  law  and  jurisdicBon  throughout  the  Province    (ss.  38.07.(1))  

•  Approximately  50%  of  IIO  invesBgators  have  extensive  experience  as  former  police  invesBgators;  the  other  50%  have  invesBgaBve  experience  areas  other  than  policing  –  No  IIO  invesBgator  may  have  policed  in  the  Province  during  the  

five  year  period  immediately  preceding  their  appointment  

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Goals  of  the  IIO  

1.  To  complete  fair,  thorough  invesBgaBons  2.  To  improve  the  Bmeliness  of  invesBgaBons  

3.  Transparency  through  public  reporBng  

Office  Loca*on  

•  The  Independent  InvesBgaBons  Office  is  located  in  Surrey  

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Execu*ve  Team  

Chief  Civilian  Director  

Richard  Rosenthal  

Special  Advisor*   Legal  Counsel  ExecuBve  Director  

Public  Accountability  

Director  Corporate  Services  

*One  year  secondment  

Inves*ga*on  Teams  

*One  year  secondment  

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Memorandum  of  Understanding  with  the  Policing  Community  

•  Key  issues:  –  NoBficaBon  –  Scene  Security  –  Parallel  InvesBgaBons  –  Specialized  Field  Services  –  Forensic  Support  –  Exhibit  Storage  –  Officer  SequestraBon  – Witness  Officer  ResponsibiliBes  –  Timing  of  Interviews  –  Video  Recorded  Interviews  

Statutory  Requirements  Applicable  to  Police  Agencies  

•  Immediate  noBficaBon  of  the  IIO  with  respect  to  cases  falling  within  its  mandate  (38.09(1))  

•  UnBl  IIO  arrives  at  the  scene  of  an  incident,  officers  must  take  any  lawful  measures  necessary  to  obtain  and  preserve  evidence  

•  Upon  IIO  arrival,  officers  must  relinquish  control  over  the  invesBgaBon  of  the  incident  

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Statutory  Requirements  Applicable  to  Police  Witnesses  

•  38.101:  An  officer  must  cooperate  fully  with  an  IIO  InvesBgator  in  the  IIO  InvesBgator’s  exercise  of  powers  or  performance  of  duBes  

•  As  such,  officers  designated  as  “witness  officers”  may  be  compelled  to  make  a  statement  to  the  IIO  in  a  Bmely  fashion  

•  Pursuant  to  38.102(1):  a  statement  provided  during  an  IIO  invesBgaBon  is  inadmissible  in  evidence  in  court  in  a  civil  proceeding  where  the  officers  is  a  defendant  

Chief  Civilian  Director  responsible  for:  

•  ReporBng  to  Crown  Counsel  if  the  CCD  “considers  that  an  officer  may  have  commiVed  an  offence  under  any  enactment”  

•  Where  CCD  does  not  reach  that  conclusion,  the  CCD  may  close  out  the  case  with  no  referral  to  Crown  

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Public  Repor*ng  

•  Where  there  is  a  death  or  significant  public  interest  in  a  case,  an  no  referral  to  Crown  has  been  made,  the  CCD  will  issue  a  public  report  containing:  – A  summary  of  the  invesBgaBon  and  its  findings  and  – An  explanaBon  as  to  why  the  maVer  is  not  being  reported  to  Crown  Counsel  

•  Annual  report  containing  staBsBcal  informaBon  including,  the  number  and  frequency  of  types  of  invesBgaBons,  their  outcome  and  any  idenBfied  trend.  

Contac*ng  the  IIO    

•  If  you  would  like  to  know  more  about  the  IIO,  please  contact:      

claire.leek@iiobc.ca  

Tel:  604  586  5668  

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