A former director of the Victoria Esquimalt Police Board says an independent investigation into Victoria police procedures for officers under investigation for serious breaches and corruption is a good first step, but it’s time the board made more of its decisions out in the open.
Lawyer Paul Schachter, who resigned from the board in 2022, citing lack of information and limitations to the board’s oversight powers, said he hopes an external investigation is able to restore public confidence in the police force.
“I kind of make a challenge to the board — let’s see you do the right thing. Let’s see you do the right thing and do a good investigation because your job is to supervise the municipal police department. So go out and do it and help restore the confidence,” said Schachter.
The board decided to bring in an independent investigator after Schachter filed a complaint against the Victoria Police Department, arguing that it should be investigated for how it may have contributed to the collapse of a major drug prosecution.
Charges were stayed against three men in a fentanyl-trafficking case involving $30 million in seized evidence after a judge found that Victoria police allowed an officer under investigation by the RCMP’s anti-corruption unit to be involved in the case, then tried to hide the situation from the courts.
Schachter pushed for an independent investigation into whether Victoria police have appropriate policies and procedures in place for officers who are under investigation.
The police board decision was made at an in-camera meeting this week, which Schachter believes is part of the problem with the board and the police department.
“The Victoria Esquimalt Police Board are still doing too much in closed session and in secret. How do you restore confidence? How do you tell people that there’s a change if everything you’re doing is secret even when it doesn’t have to be?” he said. “We spend $70 million in Victoria on policing — I think we need some of these basic questions answered.”
Police board co-chair Barb Desjardins said there is little the board can say until an investigator has been secured.
“Any time there is a policy complaint, there is a process which includes the [Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner]. This is happening on this issue,” she said. “The public should have confidence that the layers of review, investigation and oversight, including OPCC, of any complaint received help improve public safety service of our department.”
Schachter said if the board refers the investigation to another police force, the public is unlikely to have confidence in it.
A better route would be to engage a retired judge or someone else who is “really truly independent” to lead the investigation, he said.
“I believe that an independent external investigation is the only way to proceed. It’s necessary to restore the trust in the integrity and honesty of the department. Without the trust, there really isn’t effective policing.”
