Re: Watchdog clears cops in murder investigation, Oct. 28

Watchdog clears cops in murder investigation, Oct. 28

A Superior Court justice recognizes wrongdoing by police in a court of law but the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) can't see it when it's staring them in the face.

The provincial government has to get rid of this spineless and ineffective organization. Its record of dealing with complaints against the police in Ontario is nothing but a sham.

According to its annual report, the OIPRD substantiated less than 13 per cent of the 3,200 complaints it received from the public against the police in one year. And the majority of complaints against police come from minorites who have neither the financial resources nor the ability to challenge an OIPRD decision by filing for a judicial review.

In short, in Ontario there is no oversight or accountability for police misconduct when it affects the people who are the most susceptible to police abuse. In fact, one could make a case that having a government organization that conducts sloppy investigations and renders illogical decisions is more harmful to the justice system's credibility than not having an oversight body at all.

The province should move quickly to abolish the OIPRD and replace it with an oversight body that holds police accountable.

Darryl T. Davies, criminology instructor, Carleton University