At their latest meeting, the Regina Board of Police Commissioners passed a resolution to lobby the province to create an independent police watchdog.
The board will now write to Provincial Justice Minister and Attorney General Don Morgan and ask for the province to expand the Public Complaints Commission and transition to civilian oversight.
Regina Mayor Michael Fougere says he appreciates what the province has done so far, but they need to go further.
“I think it’s needed, we’re one of the last jurisdictions in Canada that does not have civilian oversight, and with police not investigating police,” said Fougere. “I think given, particularly, the environment of the last couple of months, we need to instill even more confidence in the police service, and the police are asking for this, the chiefs of police want this. I think this is long overdue in some ways.”
He says that by the board drafting this resolution, it shows they want to be a part of the conversation.
Regina Police Chief Evan Bray says that the conversation around creating an independent police watchdog is one that he welcomes.
“I think this is really healthy, it’s healthy for our community, it’s healthy for policing,” said Bray. “The ability for us to do our job in our community is really directly weighted on the community’s willingness to let us do the job. If the community has confidence in our police service, but also confidence in an oversight body to ensure that things are transparent and done in a proper way, I think that’s nothing but positive.”
The board is hoping the province will allow civilian oversight into investigations into cases where people suffer injuries or death while in police custody.
Bray says that while there’s value in having civilians investigate police, it also helps to have senior members giving their expertise.
“That’s the beauty of oversight is, it’s not police directing the oversight, it’s police working within whatever the legislative changes are,” said Bray. “There’s real value in us doing quick oversight and review on day to day use of force because we have senior officers in our organization, who have the expertise on how to look at that.”
A report brought to the board showed that use of force incidents in Regina decreased by nearly 9 percent in 2019, compared to the year before.