Head of B.C. police watchdog wants agency to investigate sexual assault allegations

WARNING: This story contains details of sexual abuse and ​​​intimate partner violence.

The director of B.C.'s police watchdog says her agency's mandate should be expanded to include investigating sexual assault allegations.

B.C. is the only province with a civilian-led police oversight agency that doesn't investigate sexual assault allegations levelled against officers. 

"I believe [it] would lead to the public having a greater faith that these incidents are being fully and transparently investigated," Jessica Berglund, chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office (IIO), told CBC News.  

The IIO investigates any incident involving police that results in serious harm or death. If the agency has reasonable grounds to believe that an officer may have committed an offence, it will then refer the matter to the B.C. Prosecution Service for consideration of charges.

If a municipal police officer is accused of sexual misconduct in B.C., they're disciplined not by an independent body, but by senior police officers from their own departments or from external police departments. Those decisions are then reviewed by an outside agency, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC), which can appoint a retired judge to reexamine the evidence if it disagrees with a police department's findings.

Police watchdog agencies in every other province are mandated to investigate sexual assault, with the exception of Prince Edward Island, which doesn't have its own oversight agency yet and is working with the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick governments to finalize an agreement for one.

1 in 4 disciplined officers fired

In March, the OPCC published a database of substantiated misconduct and disciplinary measures against officers employed by B.C.'s 12 municipal police departments.

The database doesn't track RCMP officers. B.C. has about 2,600 municipal police officers, according to the latest provincial figures from 2023, which don't include the recently created Surrey Police Service.

A review of all of the cases by CBC News found that in those involving sexual misconduct or gender-based violence, the officer involved was fired in one out of four cases.

The offences range from sexual harassment to sexual and physical assault. Most of the victims were female police officers or officers' current and former partners.

From 2009 to 2025, there were 40 instances of sexual misconduct or gender-based violence. In ten cases, officers were fired. In the other cases, officers received penalties including unpaid suspensions or training.

Fellow police officers decided the penalties in over 80 per cent of the cases reviewed by CBC.

Six of the officers resigned from the force before the misconduct process was complete. In each of those cases, the OPCC said their records show the officers were fired.

The offences include a Vancouver police officer who was demoted from first-class constable to second-class constable after he "engaged in sexual activity" with a 17-year-old girl without asking for her age.

Another Vancouver police officer was suspended for 12 days after he touched a female officer on her "buttock/crotch area without her consent" at a party, then later yelled at her "I haven't washed this hand since the party." 

An Abbotsford police officer who was issued a peace bond for assaulting his partner was suspended for one day and had to undergo counselling/treatment.

'Culture of impunity'

Danielle McNabb, a Brock University assistant professor who researches Canadian public law and police sexual misconduct, argues the current system of police disciplining police "erodes public trust."

"It undermines the police's legitimacy when the public is sort of viewing what may appear to be sort of lenient or non-existent consequences," she said.

Angela Marie MacDougall, the executive director of the Battered Women's Support Services Society, said she was surprised by some of the penalties that officers received.

"It doesn't bode well for confidence in an agency that has a responsibility for being a measure of safety and protection for victims of sexualized violence," she said in an interview.

"It's creating a culture of impunity around sexualized violence.... As an employer, I couldn't imagine not taking stronger action, knowing what it means for the culture of an organization."

The Vancouver and Abbotsford police departments declined to comment on OPCC matters. 

The Vancouver department added that it has policies and expectations related to personal relationships and respectful conduct in the workplace.

The OPCC told CBC the B.C. Police Act lays out the factors that decision makers should consider when choosing a penalty for officers, which include the seriousness of the conduct, the likelihood of future misconduct and the impact of the penalty on the officer and their family.

It said the Police Act says approaches that seek to educate the officer should take precedence, unless it is unworkable or would bring the administration of police discipline into disrepute.

Kate Puddister, an associate professor specializing in criminal justice policy at the University of Guelph, says research shows that having an external and independent investigation may facilitate more reports of sexual violence.

"The fact that the process in British Columbia is internal, probably, has dissuaded several victims and complainants from coming forward," she said.

"So it's possible that the rate of charges being laid or the rate of officers being dismissed wouldn't change, but perhaps the number of cases and people coming forward would be different."

More resources would be needed

Berglund says the IIO would need more staffing and training resources if its mandate were expanded.

"Doing intimate partner, domestic violence investigations requires a very specialized skill set — including being very, very competent in trauma-informed interviewing," she said.

A 2022 report into reforming B.C.'s Police Act, which governs the IIO, included a call for a civilian police oversight agency to oversee sexual offence complaints against police.

Critics have said that progress on implementing the act's recommendations have stalled in the three years since. 

Berglund says she is not currently involved with specific discussions on expanding the IIO's mandate to cover sexual assault.

In a statement to CBC, the Ministry of Attorney General said it's deeply committed to ensuring justice for survivors of sexual assault.

"Civilian police oversight is an integral component to upholding public confidence in policing and more broadly, the justice system. Calls to expand the IIO mandate in this way is one of a number of issues being considered in response to the recommendations [of the 2022 report]."

It said expanding the mandate would require regulatory changes and extensive consultations with police.

If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. If you're affected by family or intimate partner violence, you can look for help through crisis lines and local support services. ​​