Expect tougher penalties if Ontario makes ‘incestuous’ police misconduct hearings independent, experts say

The Star | November 4, 2017

Lawyers for both complainants and police say they welcome reforms tabled at Queen’s Park this week that would set up an independent disciplinary system to ensure public complaints against officers aren’t handled by the police services themselves.

The province’s proposed legislation, the Safer Ontario Act, would mean some tribunals would be overseen by an independent adjudicator, and independent counsel from the Ministry of the Attorney General would act as the prosecutor — police chiefs appoint both positions in the current system.

For a citizen whose complaint about a police officer results in a professional misconduct charge, walking into the ensuing hearing may be, well, jarring.