A brand new provincial oversight physique has introduced it should conduct an inspection of the Thunder Bay Police Service and Thunder Bay Police Companies Board following a number of public complaints.
Inspector Basic of Policing of Ontario Ryan Teschner, who heads up the provincial Inspectorate of Policing, introduced the evaluate on Thursday.
“My workplace obtained a number of complaints concerning the Thunder Bay Police Service and particularly, how loss of life investigations are performed,” Teschner mentioned in an interview with Ontario Chronicle on Friday. “These complaints are inside my jurisdiction, and so I made the choice that we might conduct an inspection of the Thunder Bay Police Service beneath the Neighborhood Security and Policing Act.”
“This inspection can be goal,” he mentioned. “We are going to observe the details, we are going to collect the knowledge, and it’ll consider how effectively the Thunder Bay Police Service conducts each loss of life and lacking individual investigations, in the end specializing in their compliance with Ontario’s policing laws and main practices.”
The inspection may also assess how the service, and the board, are addressing suggestions made by different oversight our bodies which have performed opinions, and monitor the board to make sure the members are complying with the act, the inspectorate acknowledged in a media launch.
Teschner mentioned there isn’t a set timeline for the inspection, however anticipates it should conclude someday in 2025. Any findings can be publicly launched on the inspectorate’s web site.
In an announcement issued Friday, Thunder Bay Police Companies Board chair Karen Machado mentioned the board “is totally dedicated to working collaboratively and transparently with the Inspectorate of Policing throughout the investigation and welcomes any additional recommendation that can strengthen Thunder Bay’s police oversight system.”
