The Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC; French: ''Commission civile de l’Ontario sur la police''), previously known as the Ontario Police Commission and the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services, is an independent

quasi-judicial agency A quasi-judicial body is non-judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitration panel or tribunal board, that can be a public administrative agency but also a contract- or private law entity, which has been ...

, and is one of the 13 adjudicative tribunals overseen by the

Ministry of the Attorney General The Attorney General of Ontario is the chief legal adviser to His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The Attorney General is a senior member of the Executive Council of Ontario (the cabinet) an ...

that make up

Tribunals Ontario Tribunals Ontario (french: Tribunaux décisionnels Ontario) is the umbrella organization for 13 adjudicative tribunals under the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario. It was formed on January 1, 2019, from the merger of the Social Justice ...

. The OCPC hears appeals, adjudicates applications, conducts investigations and resolves disputes regarding the oversight and provision of policing services in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The role and authority of OCPC is mandated under the Ontario '' Police Services Act'' and ''Interprovincial Policing Act''. Until 1990, the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services Board of Inquiry was the civilian oversight of police services in Ontario after which the Special Investigations Unit took over the role.

Organization

The OCPC has two divisions:

Adjudicative Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the pa ...

and Investigative. The divisions operate independently under one Registrar. The

division is led by the Associate Chair and primarily deals with appeals of disciplinary matters; proposals to amalgamate, reduce or abolish existing municipal police forces; budgetary disputes regarding police services; and other functions. The Investigative division is led by the Executive Chair and deals with investigations, inquiries and public complaints concerning the conduct of chiefs of police, police officers, special constables and police services boards.

Responsibilities

OCPC handles complaints involving police conduct that do not result in a serious injury or death in the province, or that have been sent to OCPC from local police agencies. All other cases are investigated by the Special Investigations Unit. Requests for other types of services can also be made by the Provincial government. For example, in late May 2019, the Commission appointed a retired Toronto deputy chief, Mike Federico, as administrator to oversee the

Durham Regional Police The Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) is the police service operated by and serving the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada. The force serves the following local municipalities, with a combined population of 706,200. * Pickering ...

whose senior ranks were being investigated for alleged corruption and abuse of power. As of that time, none of the allegations had been proven. The allegations were first brought to light in an April 19, 2019 report in the

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and par ...

; at the time, a lawyer representing Chief Paul Martin said the allegations are "false and defamatory".

References

External links

* {{ONGovDept Civilian regulating boards Ontario government departments and agencies Police oversight organizations