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Charges against Toronto police officers lead to Ontario-wide corruption review of all police agencies
In a bid to repair broken trust in policing, an Ontario-wide integrity and corruption review of all of the province’s police services is being launched after last week’s arrests of seven Toronto police officers accused of corruption linked to violent organized crime.
The review is not restricted to the Toronto police but will include all 45 of the province’s police services with a focus on protecting against the poisoning presence of organized crime.
Ontario’s inspector general of policing, Ryan Teschner, announced the inspection of how each police service, police service board, and the Ontario Provincial Police is working to prevent, detect, respond to, and fortify their organization from corruption.
The Toronto arrests — and the serious nature of the allegations behind them — have damaged the public’s trust in police, Teschner said.
“It is important to acknowledge the real questions the public is asking and the potential effect these questions may have on their confidence in Ontario’s policing system.
“Rebuilding public trust also requires more than words. It requires action,” he said when announcing the inspection on Monday.
“Ontarians must have assurance that our policing system is able to maintain the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.
“Strong systems of vetting, oversight, accountability, and standards are essential — they enable police officers to earn and preserve public trust and are foundational to safe communities and effective policing in Ontario.
“Protecting the public is at the core of policing. The results of this inspection will help the sector deliver safe, effective and trustworthy policing for the people of Ontario.”
The Toronto Police Service and the Toronto Police Service Board requested a review of Toronto’s service by the Inspector General of Policing, but Teschner said a wider review of all police agencies was the better approach.
He said crooked cops don’t necessarily stay with one service or restrict their interactions to one service.
The inspection review will focus on five areas: How effectively officers are supervised; the screening and vetting of officers at recruitment and on an ongoing basis; access to police databases and information systems; evidence and property management; and substance abuse and fitness for duty.
“Organized crime is insidious, and organizations are made up of people. And we have to ensure that our organizations are sufficiently strong to prevent and, where necessary, detect and intervene,” Teschner said.
He said the province-wide, sector-wide inspection would be independent of government.
He plans to appoint an external inspector to conduct the review. That inspector will be given the same statutory powers he has. The external inspector will then give his report to Teschner who will review it to determine if there has been non-compliance with legislation.
“If there has been non-compliance, I must then determine whether to issue any legally binding directions, directions that will require action and implementation,” Teschner said.
He said the outcome will be made public.
His inspection will be looking at systems from an institutional level. It is not looking at individual officers’ conduct or at criminal conduct.
He would not give an expected timeline for the review.
After the announcement, Toronto Chief of Police Myron Demkiw and Toronto Police Service Board Chair Shelley Carroll said they appreciate the inspection and pledged support and assistance.
Demkiw said that he would seek to have six of the seven officers who were charged suspended from work without pay, as opposed to suspended with pay. That’s a rarity in policing. There are restrictions on when an officer can be suspended without pay.
Demkiw said Toronto police are internally reviewing their practices and not just waiting for the inspection review.
“There’s a lot of work that’s going to have to happen very, very quickly,” he said, saying he maintains support for the dedication and integrity of the vast majority of his 8,000 members.
“The actions of a few will not define the actions of the many, and our members will continue to deliver services in the best way they possibly can,” Demkiw said.
Carroll, the board chair, in turn said she supports the chief’s ability to handle the scandal.
“The chief has been clear in his commitment to transparency, cooperation, and to doing the work that is going to be necessary, doing the work that is required to rebuild trust in our community.
“His leadership is going to be essential to recommendations coming forward and being implemented in as quick a process as possible,” Carroll said.
The Police Association of Ontario expressed concern about the perception the probe might give of its 33,000 members across Ontario.
“There is no evidence of widespread police corruption across Ontario. Our members are dedicated, hard-working professionals who serve their communities with pride and professionalism every day,” a statement from the association said.
“To paint all our members with the same brush is not fair to the thousands who come to work every day to ensure the safety and security of our communities.”
The individual professional disciplinary hearings for potential misconduct by the arrested officers under the Community Safety and Policing Act — which are separate from their legal prosecution under the Criminal Code — will not be dealt with internally by Toronto police.
The Law Enforcement Complaints Agency, known as LECA, has taken over that process, the agency said Monday.
Police chiefs at all provincial police services are required to notify LECA when they become aware that a sworn member of their service may have engaged in misconduct that impacts members of the public. The usual types of complaints are then typically handled internally by the police service’s professional standards officials, but LECA can assume control over any complaints it wants to.
LECA Director Stephen Leach announced LECA has taken over the individual review of disciplinary action into allegations or complaints related to the officers and any future complaints related to the investigation.
LECA said they are communicating with the Inspector General of Policing to ensure their work does not interfere with the province-wide inspection.
Last week, York Regional Police announced the findings of Project South that lead to the alarming arrest of seven serving Toronto police officers and a recently retired Toronto police officer. They were criminally charged based on a variety of allegations, including an allegation of a conspiracy to commit murder.
Charges laid include bribery, obstruction of justice, drug trafficking, theft of personal property, breach of trust and the unauthorized access and distribution of confidential information.
The next day, three Peel Regional Police officers were suspended stemming from the Project South investigation, but not criminally charged. Those officers were suspended pending further investigation by the Project South team.
• Email: ahumphreys@postmedia.com | Twitter: AD_Humphreys
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