The Independent Investigation Unit is the civilian oversight agency in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

responsible for the investigation of incidents resulted in serious injury or death to any person. IIU has jurisdiction over all municipal police officers, First Nations police officers and

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

"D" Division officers, for all complaints on or off duty related.

Organization

IIU was created as a result of the recommendations from the Taman Inquiry. The Manitoba government amended the legislation governing police services in 2009 to pave way for the creation of the IIU. IIU is headed by the Civilian Director (CD), who cannot be a current or past police officer. They are responsible for reviewing all investigative reports. Once an investigation is completed, the report is forwarded to the Civilian Director. The report is not made public, except in criminal or civil lawsuits, and in disciplinary proceedings or inquires into death by the Medical Examiner. The CD may choose to directly lay charges if they determine the subject officer has committed an offence, or could refer the matter to

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

for charge assessment. If prosecution is commenced, section 68(2) of ''The Police Services Act'' requires the prosecutor to be from another province. IIU is one of the three investigative oversight agencies for police in Canada (the other being the

Alberta Serious Incident Response Team The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is the civilian oversight agency in Alberta, Canada responsible for the investigation of incidents resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police ...

& Nova Scotia's Serious Incident Response Team) to have current sworn police officers from the Province appointed as investigators. On the other hand, the Special Investigation Unit of Ontario, the

Independent Investigations Office The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) is the civilian oversight agency in British Columbia, Canada responsible for examining and investigating incidents involving on or off duty municipal police officers, Stl’atl’imx Tribal Police Serv ...

of British Columbia, and the ''Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes'' of Quebec prohibits serving police officers from their respective provinces from being appointed as an investigator. Civilian investigators are appointed as peace officer, and a police constable under section 63 of ''The Police Services Act''. IIU is a member of the Canadian Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (CACOLE).

Jurisdiction

IIU is the fifth investigative oversight agency for police in Canada, after Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia & British Columbia. Its jurisdiction extends to all serving police officers regardless of agency. However, it does not investigate other provincial or municipal law enforcement officers (known as "Special Constable" under ''The Police Services Act'').

Mandate

IIU investigates all incidents where death or serious injuries may have been the result of police action. Further, the IIU has the mandate to investigate complaints from chiefs of police services alleging that police officers committed an offence under certain sections of the ''Criminal Code''. They include perjury,

obstructing justice Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other go ...

fabricating evidence False evidence, fabricated evidence, forged evidence, fake evidence or tainted evidence is information created or obtained illegally in order to sway the verdict in a court case. Falsified Evidence (law), evidence could be created by either sid ...

, and giving contradictory evidence. IIU does not accept complaints from the general public. Unlike other similar oversight agencies in Canada, a civilian monitor may be appointed by the Manitoba Police Commission to monitor the progress of the investigation, and to report back to the commission.Civilian head of new Independent Investigation Unit introduced today
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References

External links

{{Law enforcement agencies in Canada Civilian regulating boards Manitoba government departments and agencies Police oversight organizations Government agencies established in 2013