Federal prosecutors are reviewing a number of Abbotsford drug cases after an investigation uncovered 148 allegations of misconduct by 17 officers in the Fraser Valley department. Most of the allegations relate to the documents officers took to court to obtain search warrants in drug investigations. The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner on Wednesday revealed some details of the investigation. “The allegations are serious in nature and primarily relate to issues with the integrity of statements that were provided by police officers to judicial officers pursuant to the authorization process for search warrants,” Commissioner Stanley Lowe said. As a result, a review of some prosecutions is underway, said Sujata Raisinghani of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. She would not say how many cases are involved or how far back in time the review goes. “We initiated a file review ... and have begun taking steps to address them,” she said. Asked for the number of cases or scope of the review, she said: “There’s nothing more we can provide you.” Criminal charges have already been stayed in more than 10 drug cases in the past year due to the investigation of the police officers, Abbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich said in a 30-minute one-on-one interview with The Vancouver Sun. Rich said he hopes the charges can be reinstated once the OPCC investigation is concluded. “The matters that involved these members, we’re putting to one side for now and they might be proceeded on later,” he said. Some of the cases under review involved Abbotsford Police Const. Christopher Nicholson, who was charged in May 2013 with several criminal offences, including breach of trust, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance. He is due to go to trial in May 2016. OPCC deputy commissioner Rollie Woods said of the 148 allegations, 58 relate to Nicholson, while the other 90 involve the other 16 Abbotsford officers. The allegations being probed are not criminal in nature, but alleged violations of the Police Act, Woods said. Rich said police earlier informed Crown counsel of “20 or more” past criminal cases involving Nicholson, and that to his knowledge none of the cases were tossed out of court. Allegations against Nicholson were raised by other Abbotsford officers in the fall of 2012 and a criminal investigation was launched by the Vancouver Police at Rich’s request. Once the spotlight was focused on the department, other issues were identified and the New Westminster police department was asked to conduct a Police Act investigation. Rich said he takes personal responsibility for not taking action sooner to head off the scandal sweeping through his department. “I wish this hadn’t happened,” Rich said. “We found that our policies were not tight enough, that our training was not good enough and I take full responsibility for that on behalf of our members. “Both of those things should have been better, and (if they had been) our members would not be in the place they are now. That’s my fault.

“When members make mistakes, and some of that comes from the fact you haven’t provided really stringent training and procedures that make it very difficult to make those mistakes, then I should bear responsibility for that.” Rich said he is confident no new criminal charges will be laid other than those already filed against Nicholson, although it’s possible some of the other 16 officers under investigation may face disciplinary action. “I have found this really hard,” said Rich, chief of the 220-member department for about six years. “But I completely believe in my members. I ain’t giving up.” The 16 officers continue to be paid, are on active duty but are no longer part of the 10-officer drug section. They all have their chief’s confidence. “The Police Complaint Commissioner has cast a wide net and a large number of people are going to be investigated,” Rich continued. “I believe in the other 16 police officers involved in this matter. We’re talking about 16 people who have integrity and are trying to serve this community in hard times. Rich said some of the issues that have arisen are administrative — a single signature on a document to obtain a search warrant when two are required. In other cases, officers didn’t include enough background on the criminal history of confidential informants whose tips were used to obtain search warrants. Vancouver police were also asked to audit Abbotsford’s informant-handling process after the problem was identified and the Abbotsford force implemented changes as a result, Rich said. “So, both out of the criminal investigation and the audit, we’ve now taken a 50,000-lumen spotlight and found all the things that weren’t exactly the way they should have been,” Rich said. “My belief is that many of these officers, it will turn out they’ve made some mistakes, some neglected their duty, but what they’re facing right now are deceit allegations. “Making mistakes is different from trying to deceive the court.” Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun, who chairs the police board, said he was briefed on the investigation by Rich in December. Braun said that while he understands the general concern over the information released Wednesday, people should wait for the final report before jumping to conclusions. “It’s important to remember that this investigation began with the Abbotsford Police Department officers,” Braun said. “That fact alone speaks volumes about the integrity of the Abbotsford Police Department,” adding he supports “a thorough investigation.” “I have complete faith in the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner. I also have faith in the Abbotsford Police Department,” he said. Woods said Lowe released details of the probe mid-investigation because the allegations are so serious that the public should be informed. He said OPCC has not received disclosure from the New Westminster police investigators yet, so doesn’t know how many prosecutions could potentially be effected. “We have asked the police to look into that aspect of it. The commissioner is concerned that is a potential outcome — unsafe prosecutions,” Woods said. John Conroy, a criminal lawyer in Abbotsford for more than 40 years, said irregularities in obtaining a search warrant would not automatically result in a case being tossed out due to inadmissibility of evidence.