Retiring police commissioner calls for changes to office's powers

P.E.I.'s first police commissioner is retiring and he has a few recommendations for government before he goes.

Gerard Mitchell, a former provincial Supreme Court chief justice, was appointed as police commissioner for the province in 2009. The role is an independent civilian oversight office of the Island's police forces, tasked with investigating and resolving public complaints against police, outside of the RCMP.

His initial term was for five years, which has been extended to the end of March this year, but Mitchell told CBC News: Compass host Steve Bruce he thinks it's time for a new face in the job.

The office has dealt with on average five complaints a year over the time he's been commissioner. They relate mainly to minor complaints, he said, with none going so far as a public hearing. The low number of complaints, he said, has to do with the fact that he only has jurisdiction over Charlottetown, Summerside and Kensington police forces, the low population of the Island and the limitations in the legislation governing his office.

Mainly minor complaints

Most of the complaints he dealt with were fairly minor matters, often coming from misunderstanding or rude comments, he said.

"We weren't overburdened by the number of complaints by any stretch of the imagination," he said. "And when there were complaints, we seemed to be able to resolve them pretty well to the satisfaction of the parties or to determine in fact there wasn't a valid complaint or we didn't have jurisdiction to deal with it."

He noted the particular limitations of his office in dealing with complaints, which had to come directly from someone affected by a police officer's actions.

"The jurisdiction of the police commissioner on Prince Edward Island is a fairly narrow one," he said. "It only involves complaints by people against particular police officers or chiefs that occurred within a short period of time — six months — in which they were directly affected. In other words, someone who just witnesses an act of police misconduct can't be a complainant, it has to be the person who was directly affected by it."

Legislation changes could come this year

Mitchell has been in discussions with the government about making some changes to the office to allow it more freedom to receive complaints directly from the public, rather than members of the public first having to go through a police department.

It needs to change in the sense that complaints can be brought directly to the office of the police commissioner.— Gerard Mitchell

"It needs to change in the sense that complaints can be brought directly to the office of the police commissioner," he said. "Right now if a person has a complaint against a police officer, they have to bring the complaint to the police department where that officer works and that may inhibit some people from actually filing a complaint."

The office also doesn't deal with complaints about service, such as someone feeling as though there aren't enough patrol cars in their area and strictly focuses on code of conduct allegations.

Based on his discussions with the government, he believes there will be legislation to implement some of his suggestions in the coming sittings this year.

Applications to be the new commissioner are being accepted until March 30. Mitchell will stay on until the new person is in place.

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