Victoria, B.C. – It’s official. The Independent Investigations Office, will officially start it’s work on September 10^th. 

The IIO will have the authority to investigate incidents of death or serious harm involving a police officer in B.C. Under new legislation, police are compelled to report all such incidents immediately to the IIO.  

As ws reported on Opinion 250 last week, the IIO is in the process of finalizing its policies and procedures. Investigators are undergoing training at the Justice Institute of B.C. and the Canadian Police College. 

"Police agencies in B.C. have recognized and supported the need for increased transparency and accountability” says Minister of Justice and Attorney General Shirley Bond. “The creation and soon-to-be activation of the IIO will mark a new era that ensures incidents involving police officers that result in death or serious harm are investigated in an impartial way, strengthening the public’s faith in the dedicated officers who work to keep them safe."  

The creation of the IIO was one of the recommendations in the Braidwood Inquiry into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski. He died at the Vancouver Airport after being repeatedly zapped with an energy conductive device by members of the RCMP. 

Chief civilian director of the IIO is Richard Rosenthal who says the goal of the IIO is to “conduct fair, competent, bias- free investigations in a timely fashion and publicly report on the results of our investigations.  Over the past several months, we have been working to hire and train investigative teams that will be ready to respond with a level of competence once the office is operational this fall." –

In an interview with Opinion 250 last week, Rosenthal  said it is critical that investigators do it “right” as failure to do so would result in a lack of public confidence in the IIO.