Canadian Police Chief Magazine/La Revue des chefs de police du Canada - Winter/Hiver 2008 - (Page 30)

continued from page 29 Efforts to attract and select the best individuals to work in the area are critical to ensuring the integrity of investigations and acceptance by the membership. Several Services select the top qualiﬁed candidates from promotion lists to ensure their professional standard sections are staffed by highly skilled and competent individuals. Some jurisdictions are consolidating resources in an effort to develop anti-corruption units or teams. A number of organizations are examining the viability of drug testing and targeted integrity testing. These resourceintensive, proactive investigations are extremely difﬁcult to manage in an environment of heavy caseloads and signiﬁcant time pressures. Finally, for the health and wellness of investigators, more attention should be focused on training investigators to recognize and address stress-related problems. This may require legislative amendment in some jurisdictions. Although using sworn ofﬁcers as presenting ofﬁcers is viewed as beneﬁcial because they have operational and administrative knowledge that outside counsel may not have, Services have found it increasingly difﬁcult to use them as prosecutors in these proceedings. Some Services send sworn ofﬁcers to law school and then utilize them as hearings ofﬁcers at reduced cost. lematic where there is a personal relationship between individuals in conﬂict. Behaviours seen consistently across the country include domestic assault, impaired driving, bar ﬁghts and harassment. The ongoing education of ofﬁcers about their individual responsibility to their sworn ofﬁce and an emphasis on deterrence is essential. WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION Internal and external discriminatory practice investigations are time consuming and pose challenges for many Professional Standards Sections. External discrimination complaints often relate to racial proﬁling. Racial proﬁling complaint investigation guidelines are required to assist investigators and ensure consistency in approach. Internally, mandatory education about workplace harassment is recommended for every agency. INTERRELATIONSHIPS WITH POLICE BOARDS AND ASSOCIATIONS The review highlighted the importance of the relationship between Professional Standards Sections and Boards, Commissions and Associations and noted the value of providing educational opportunities for Commissions and Boards on relevant legislation, policies and procedures employed by Professional Standards Sections. This would help to clarify myths and misapprehensions about subject ofﬁcers and processes, and permit more focused input into process and policy improvements. Several jurisdictions reported positive feedback and improved understanding and relationships with Associations where Association board members worked in Professional Standards Sections. EARLY INTERVENTION SYSTEMS Many jurisdictions are implementing early intervention systems to reduce risks. Further consideration is recommended for identiﬁcation of supervisory deﬁciencies through analysis of the number of complaints generated, training for anyone involved in an intervention, and sharing the results of analysis with Training Sections to ensure training is appropriately targeted to address identiﬁed challenges. DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNALS Concerns identiﬁed in internal disciplinary tribunals included the “over legalization” of the disciplinary hearing process, inconsistency in decisions within and between provinces, and the increased number of hearings resulting from Court or Board decisions. “Over legalization” refers to the increased use of lawyers at proceedings, the greater number of motions being made, the corresponding skyrocketing expenses to Services and Associations, and the increased number of acquittals based on technical grounds. Police ofﬁcers have to wait longer for their hearings to come forward and may experience a sense of removal from an increasingly technical and legal process. Inconsistent decisions with respect to substantive issues and sentences and technical acquittals have shaken public and police conﬁdence in the process. Timely resolution of police discipline issues is important to Boards, Commissions, Associations and the public. Potential solutions identiﬁed for further research include developing and implementing forms of early case resolution and reducing hearing times by developing more speciﬁc hearing rules and procedures. 30 WINTER/HIVER 2008 SUSPENDED OFFICERS Ofﬁcer suspensions, terminations, and reintegration after suspension posed universal concerns. A rigorous analysis of the success or failure of suspended ofﬁcers’ return to work and a systematic review of related policies, procedures and, if necessary, legislation is strongly recommended. IMPAIRED DRIVING Police agencies devote enormous resources and public education to curbing impaired driving, but police members continue to get behind the wheel of their personal vehicles after consuming alcohol. Agencies are reporting increased blood alcohol readings in impaired driver collisions involving sworn male ofﬁcers with over 20 years of service. Committee members expressed concern that police social activities that promote alcohol consumption may negatively inﬂuence new recruits to veer from their own values in a desire for acceptance. The Subcommittee is undertaking further study on this issue. OFF DUTY CONDUCT Off duty conduct and the degree to which it should be subject to disciplinary or code of conduct regulations is another area of concern that requires further research and the development of standardized protocols. There is a signiﬁcant increase in ofﬁcer off duty conduct requiring investigation. In most provinces, there is a requirement to establish either a nexus between the conduct and the occupational requirements of a police ofﬁcer or damage to the reputation of the Police Service. This very broad threshold becomes prob- STEROIDS A review of serious misconduct cases identiﬁed increases in steroid use as a common trend. Side effects can include

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Canadian Police Chief Magazine/La Revue des chefs de police du Canada - Winter/Hiver 2008 Contents Message from the President Message du président Travelling Child Sexual Offenders – Is the Canadian Policing Community Prepared? Touristes pédophiles – Les policiers canadiens sont-ils prêts? By/par Michael Serapiglia The Challenge of Street Gangs in Canada: Imagining a Comprehensive Response Imaginer une réponse complète au problème des gangs de rue CACP Private Sector Liaison Committee: Working to Share Information and Best Practices Comité de liaison avec le secteur privé de l’ACCP : À l’oeuvre pour échanger les informations et les pratiques exemplaires CACP Professional Standards Subcommittee: Contributing to the Professionalism of Policing Le Sous-comité des normes professionnelles de l’ACCP : pour plus de professionnalisme dans les forces policières Canadian Police Earn International Recognition for Innovation La police canadienne, reconnue internationalement pour ses innovations Nomination Deadlines for 2008 CACP Awards Dates limites des mises en candidature aux prix 2008 de l’ACCP Buyers’ Guide Guide de l’acheteur Calendar of Events Calendrier des événements Index to Advertisers Index des annonceurs

Canadian Police Chief Magazine/La Revue des chefs de police du Canada - Winter/Hiver 2008

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