The Edmonton Police Commission (Commission) is committed to maintaining confidence of the public as it relates to the conduct of members and the policies or services of the Edmonton Police Service (Service).
Guidelines:
- In accordance with the Police Act and associated regulations, the Chief of Police (Chief)will establish policies and procedures for the professional conduct of Service members to ensure that members will not act in any manner that would likely bring discredit on the reputation of the Service.
- In accordance with the Police Act and associated regulations, the Chief will ensure there is a process in place to discipline members who violate the foregoing policies and procedures and will also ensure these policies and procedures are consistently applied to all Service members.
- The Chief will ensure that all complaints with respect to the conduct of Service members and the policies or services of the Service are handled in a timely manner and in accordance with the Police Act and associated regulations.
- The Service and the Commission will ensure that the public complaint brochure is readily available and accessible by members of the public and that information on how to file a complaint is readily accessible on the public facing websites of the Service and Commission.
Procedures:
- The Public Complaint Director (PCD) will receive complaints against Service members and the policies or services of the Service and will refer them to the Chief as set out in Section 43(1) of the Police Act.
- A complaint must be made in writing and must include the following information:
- the full name of the complainant;
- the complainant’s contact information including the following:
i. address,
ii. telephone number,
iii. electronic mail address (if available); - if the complaint is in respect of the conduct of a Service member, then the following information:
i. the date of the alleged conduct (if known),
ii. the identification of the Service member(s) (if known),
iii. a description of the incident that gave rise to the alleged conduct - if the complaint is in respect of a policy or service, then sufficient information to be able to identify the policy or service being complained of;
- any other information requested by the Chief, PCD, or Provincial Public Complaint Director.
- A complaint may be transmitted by electronic mail.
- If a complainant is unable to provide a written document due to a valid reason such as, but not limited to, a language barrier, then the PCD shall take reasonable steps to have the complaint recorded in writing.
- All complaints with respect to the Chief will be referred to the Chair of the Commission as set out in Section 43(2) of the Police Act. (The protocol for handling complaints against the Chief is contained in a separate EPC policy.)
- Once the PCD receives a public complaint against a Service member, other than the Chief,or a complaint regarding the policies or services of the Service, the PCD will:
- acknowledge receipt of the complaint by letter, in-person, telephone call or email;
- forward a copy of the complaint and any attachments to the Service’s Professional Standards Branch (PSB) and retain original documents in the Commission office.
- The Chief shall provide a summary report of all complaints and their current status to the PCD on a quarterly basis. This report will be provided to the Commission and made available to the public at the Commission’s public meeting and on the Commission’s website.
- The Chief shall submit annual complaint statistics to the PCD, which will be provided to the Commission. The Commission will submit those annual statistics to the City of Edmonton and make them available to the public at the Commission’s public meeting and on the Commission’s website.
References:
- Police Act, RSA 2000, c P-17
- Police Service Regulation, AR 356/1990
- EPS Policy CO2PO – Complaints Against, Investigations of, and Discipline of Sworn Members Policy