70% of SIU probes into Ottawa police never publicized

A CBC News analysis of 10 years of Special Investigations Unit probesinto the actions of Ottawa police officers shows the police watchdog only issuednews releases the manner by which the public normally learns of the investigations30 per cent of the time.

The analysis also revealed that when cases are publicized, it doesn't happen consistently.

And allegations of sexual assault against Ottawa police are onlypublicized whenofficers arecriminally charged, which happened inonly about 13per cent of the cases the oversight body looked into.

Academics and othersscrutinizingsexual assault investigationssay access to timely information about the SIU'scasesis vital because it would open thesystem to public scrutinythat could in turn improve the watchdog'sinvestigationsandimprove policing.

"We needthe public needs, and will only benefit when we have all of the data that is available," said Paul McKenna, an adjunct professor at Dalhousie University whohas researched police oversight bodies around the world.

Currently, the public can only get access to details about ongoingSIU investigations ifthe agency decides toissuea news release.

People can find out how many times police are investigated in an appendix ofthe SIU's annual reports, but it doesn't specifythe outcome of the investigations anddoesn't contain details about the cases. As well, it sometimes takesyears for the reports to be published.

Using access to information laws, CBC obtained a record of every investigation into Ottawa police conducted by the SIUfrom2007 to present, and checked to see whethernews releases were issued in each case.

Only 45 of 144cases publicized

From Jan. 1, 2007, to the end of October 2017, there were 144completed investigationsinto Ottawa police.

• View a list of all SIUinvestigations into Ottawa police dating back to 2007

The SIU issued news releases in45of those 144cases. That means 99 investigationsabout 70 per cent were never publicized.

Of the 45cases the SIU did publicize, itsprocess was inconsistent.

Monica Hudon, the watchdog's spokesperson, wrote in an emailed statementthat "for a number of years" and under "at least two different directors,"the SIUhas beencommitted to issuing news releases in all cases involving the death of someone, the use of a firearm, or a major vehicle collision, as well as when officers are charged or cases are dropped because they end up not meeting the SIU'scriteria for getting involved.

But an analysis shows the SIU hasn't always met that bar.

Some deaths never publicized

Three deaths involving Ottawa police in 2007, 2009 and 2013were never publicized. Two other deaths in 2012 and 2013 were only publicized when the investigations ended after the officers were cleared of wrongdoing.

In another death in 2007, a news release was issued at the start of the investigation, but there was no follow-up when police were cleared of wrongdoing.

One serious firearm injury in 2008 was never publicized, and a 2009 shooting death was never followed up on. Police were cleared in both cases.

Ian Scott, who led the SIUfrom October 2008 to October 2013, said his goal was to increase transparencyand issue news releases about every death investigation, as well as cases that generated publicity.

"If one or two got missed I'm sorry to hear that. It's not a good thing, because I believe the public ought to know about these," he said.

According to Hudon,the SIUopens hundreds of investigations each year, and given the unit'sresources, it isn't feasible to issue news releases each time.

Sexual assault allegations

As for allegations ofsexual assault, the SIU's policy is not to publicize the casesunless an officer is charged. Their stated aim is to protect the privacy of both thecomplainant and the accused officer.

I think this kind of [lack of] transparency has the potential to undermine public confidence in the justice system, and it's already pretty low when it comes to sexual assault.- Holly Johnson, University of Ottawa

Releasing "any information about the incident time, date, location, incident details could potentially result in identification of the individual who is alleging a sexual assault occurred and the officer who is the subject of the allegation," Hudon wrote.

Holly Johnson, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa who specializes in the legal and social responses to violence against women, said she finds thatpolicy troubling.

"I think this kind of [lack of] transparency has the potential to undermine public confidence in the justice system, and it's already pretty low when it comes to sexual assault," Johnson said.

Oversight 'critically important'

A 2015 study by Johnson found some women alleging sexual assault believed the Ottawa police officer they first turned to blamed them for it, or didn't take their complaint seriously.

Having more information about the SIU's investigations into sexual assault allegations against Ottawa police may uncover similar issues, and could help improve the investigations, she said.

"I think oversight of policing bodies is critically important, and I think it would allow some public oversight even without ... naming or identifying victims or an accused person. I think it would indicate where there are problems in policing," Johnson said.

But former SIUdirector Ian Scott said it's difficultto composenews releases in such a way that they protect the identity of the people involved. Scott cautionedpublicizing sex assault investigationsmight have a chilling effect on complainants.

"Is that going to encourage more people to make complaints when they read press releases about unnamed police officers not being charged?" he asked.

Bill aims to improve reporting

The Safer Ontario Act, a bill introduced at Queen's Park last week based on Justice MichaelTulloch's extensive report on police oversight, includes several changes aimed at improving the SIU's public reporting process.

• The SIU would be able to make public statements during investigations when they're aimed at preserving public confidence in police.
• If charges are laid against an officer, it would be mandatory for the SIU to give "public notice," including the officer's name (unless identifying them might identify asexual assault complainant), the charges laid, when they werelaid, and information about the first court appearance. It's not clear whether issuing a media release is considered "giving public notice."
• If charges aren't laid, the SIU director would be obligated to publish a report on the unit's website containing, among other things, a detailed narrative of events, summaries of the investigative process and relevant evidence, and the reasons for not laying charges.

Reports about charges not being laid in sexual assault cases would be redacted to ensure privacy.

But the director wouldalso be able to decide, afterconsulting with the complainant,not to publish a report at all if the complainant'sdesire for privacyoutweighs the public interest.

Starting this past May, the Ministry of the Attorney General has been releasing SIU reports in cases where officers have been cleared of wrongdoing, but reports about alleged sexual assaults have not beenincluded.

MattSkof, head of the union representing rank-and-file Ottawa police officers, said the changes won't have much of an impact on his members, who he said are already seeing a lot of news coverage aboutSIUinvestigations.

"What we're seeing in our experience in Ottawa is that the vast majority of our cases are very heavily reported in the media already, so to see an increase inSIU'sreporting requirements is really not going to have a significant impact in Ottawa,"Skofsaid.