Weekend Workshop On Police Accountability
By 250 News
Monday, August 16, 2010 03:54 AM
Prince George, B.C. - What kind of police accountability do you want in northern British Columbia? What are your rights when dealing with police? These are some of the questions that were raised in a workshop at Fort George Park in Prince George on the weekend.
About 30 people attended the workshop which was led by David Eby, the Executive Director of the BC Civil Liberties Association. Eby is the author of the “Arrest Handbook: A Guide to Your Rights” and is conducting a tour on behalf of the BCCLA in 14 northern cities this summer. The purpose of the tour was to educate people about their civil rights when dealing with the police, get feedback on RCMP practices in the region, and revitalize BCCLA advocacy groups in rural and underserviced centres like Prince George, Quesnel, Fort St. John, Terrace and other communities.
Eby began his presentation by pointing out that there are a number of serious problems with policing in British Columbia. One of the biggest problems is that there is a lack of uniformity between provincial-based policing and federally-based RCMP policing. For example, there is not a uniform “use of force” policy in regards to weapons like tasers, an issue that came up recently in the Robert Dziekanksy affair (Dziekanski died back in 2007 after being tasered 5 times by RCMP officers at the Vancouver Airport). Furthermore, there is not a uniform “complaints policy” nor is there a uniform “training policy.”
In Eby’s opinion, the province has higher standards and better oversight than the RCMP in regards to citizens registering complaints about police conduct. In particular, he talked about the recommendations of the provincial Braidwood inquiry which include forming an all-civilian oversight and complaint process. He also criticized the fact that RCMP training takes place outside the province and is based on a paramilitary model that is outdated and inadequate for the demands of modern policing.
The next part of the workshop focused on getting both positive and negative feedback about RCMP policing in the Prince George region. Several members of the audience brought up examples of good programs and professional behavior on the part of RCMP officers in the region. And that, at least in some respects, RCMP programs had improved in the last 10 years. Two of the examples were a neighborhood watch program and a workshop that focused on people with mental health problems.
However, there were also a number of criticisms about RCMP behavior, especially in the areas of communication with citizens and de-escalation of confrontations. One person from Fort St. James commented that the RCMP did not seem to be taking the complaints of First Nations people in the region about police behavior seriously. She noted that her band wants to build a better relationship with the local RCMP detachment but that they were “constantly being brushed off”.
A former corrections officer stated that, in his opinion, the RCMP had moved towards a more “confrontational attitude” over the years, and that it had too much of an “us against them mentality”, and that the force needed a real “shake-up”.
The latter half of the workshop was devoted to discussion about citizen rights when dealing with police. He explained that there are three levels of interaction with police officers. The first is “polite conversation” when you have the right to remain silent and do not have to give the officer your name. If you don’t like the questions that police are asking, you can ask the officer if you “are free to go.”
If the officer says “no”, then you are moved to the second level, i.e., of being “detained”. However, the officer “must tell you” for what reason he or she is holding you against your will. If you don’t want to talk, you can remain silent. But Eby noted that people should “use their common sense” and that “sometimes an explanation can end a police discussion more quickly.”
The third level of interaction is when you are under arrest. In this case, you are required to tell the police your name and address. In making an arrest, the police “are only allowed to use as much force as necessary to arrest you or ensure that the situation is safe.” If you feel the police have gone beyond this point with “excessive force”, you can “make a complaint or file a lawsuit.”
Eby also commented on the issue of citizens taking pictures or videos of police officers in action, such as happened with the Robert Dziekanski case. He said that citizens are allowed to take pictures or videos of officers, as long as they don’t interfere in the arrest or situation that is taking place. The police can seize such evidence, but if you can demonstrate that you will be saving this evidence and that they can get it from you through a warrant, your lawyer can compel them to return it to you.
He further noted that while some police stations have comprehensive audio and video taping of cells and corridors that is very difficult to shut off, others do not. This has been a deficiency that has been noted in a number of coroners’ reports on in-custody deaths in the province.
To conclude his presentation, Eby noted that talking about citizen rights and police accountability was not “anti-police” but rather “pro-police”, and that knowing that complaints will be properly investigated builds confidence in the populace and support for the police force.
For more information about the BC Civil Liberties Association, go to: www.bccla.org
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Posted by: BCRacer on August 16 2010 5:41 AM