Overloaded and underfunded: B.C.'s police watchdog calls for funding as investigations slow
B.C.’s police watchdog says its investigations are taking too long, as its short-staffed team struggles to keep up with a growing workload.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) has taken on nine new cases since the beginning of April, putting its total number of open cases to 86.
"I’m really concerned about the IIO's abilities to continue to do the job going forward," chief civilian director Ron MacDonald told CTV News.
Several new cases came in over the weekend, including a man’s death in Campbell River, following a shootout with RCMP. MacDonald said he had to call in investigators who were off work in order to adequately respond to the weekend incidents.
"We’ve handled it by the good will and effort of my team," he said.
But, good will can only go so far, he added.
The IIO is funded for 30 frontline investigators, but currently only has 24.
"The way [a staff shortage] can affect investigations is that we wouldn’t have enough people to respond to a case and that would be nearly disastrous," he said.
Ideally, he said shooting investigations would wrap in nine months, while all other cases would close in six. Many of the IIO’s cases have been open for far longer than that.
"We’re underpaying [investigators]," MacDonald said. "It’s hard to keep people because of that; it’s hard to attract people. Bottom line is it’s just not fair."
NEXT STEPS
The head of the IIO has requested that the organization not be bound to provincial salary guidelines, which he says limits how much it can pay staff, and doesn't allow for overtime pay.
B.C.’s Public Service Agency denied that request, MacDonald said.
He’s also asking the province for an additional $2.9 million annually, on top of the office’s $9.1 million budget.
The goal of both requests is to grow the frontline team to 40 investigators, with salaries that can compete with those of police constables.
"The gap is tens of thousands of dollars," MacDonald said.
B.C.'s attorney general says he wants to help find a solution.
"I don’t want to prejudge what those solutions will be, but we will work with the IIO to make sure that they have the resources they need to get the job done," said David Eby in an interview with CTV in March.
"The IIO does need the resources to do these investigations and we do demand a very high standard of investigation from them," he said.
Eby said that while it's worth considering allowing the IIO to hire former police officers, he’s reluctant to do that, noting the watchdog’s strength is being civilian-run.
"If we have to go there we will," he said. "There’s a limited group of people that have… the skills to do a thorough investigation if they’re not former police officers."
Even with a bigger pool of potential applicants, MacDonald said the IIO still couldn’t offer competitive salaries in its current state.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Minister 'outraged' after AFN national chief's headdress taken from Air Canada cabin
The federal minister of Crown-Indigenous relations is calling on Air Canada to 'make things right' with the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, who said her headdress was removed from an airplane cabin during a flight this week.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'Violation': CSIS had officer investigated after she reported a superior raped her
A CSIS officer's allegations that she was raped repeatedly by a superior in agency vehicles set off a harassment inquiry, but also triggered an investigation into her that concluded the alleged attacks were a “misuse” of agency vehicles by the woman.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Canada recognizes housing as a human right. Few provinces have followed suit
As more Canadians find themselves struggling to afford or find housing, the country's smallest province is the only one that can point to legislation recognizing housing as a human right.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.