Report Released Into N.B. Police Commission

The province has released the results of an independent review into the New Brunswick Police Commission.

Alphonse McNeil made a total of 22 recommendations, which the Department of Public Safety have accepted.

The review was launched after the New Brunswick Police Association questioned the fairness and impartiality of the commission’s handling of complaints against officers last year.

In particular, they raised concerns about the closed file of retired Saint John deputy police chief Glen McCloskey.

“There was no doubt that circumstances noted in this review led to the requirement for a reset in the way the NBPC conducted business,” wrote McNeil, a former RCMP assistant commissioner, in his report.

During the interview process, McNeil said the topic he heard most about was the relationship between the commission and those who have a stake in police officer conduct or police oversight.

“It was clearly evident that in recent years there was a fractured relationship between stakeholders and the NBPC that led to a very strained environment,” said McNeil.

In particular, McNeil said, the relationship between former executive director Steve Roberge and police chiefs, the police association, the Department of Public Safety and others were described as “adversarial and lacking trust.”

“His reputation was that of a bully who wanted to ‘clean things up’ and that led police officers to be concerned about fairness in dealing with complaints made against them,” he said.

But McNeil said he is confident the “current” board and staff are headed in the right direction, writing he was “very impressed” with their determination “to ensure consistency and impartiality in all matters relating to police oversight.”

MacNeil’s Recommendations

Among the recommendations, MacNeil called for a new list of investigators based on competency requirements, for talks to restart on changes to the Police Act, and for the commission to develop an electronic records management system.

MacNeil’s report also said the province should create its own Serious Incident Response Team, or SIRT.

The independent police watchdog would investigate incidents of death or serious injury involving police officers.

Six provinces currently have dedicated full-time teams to handle serious incident investigations: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia.

Currently, New Brunswick police forces will ask the RCMP or the chief of another police force to investigate serious incidents. On occasion, a police force, through the public safety minister, will call upon Nova Scotia’s Serious Incident Response Team.

But MacNeil said SIRT in Nova Scotia does not always have adequate resources to help New Brunswick police forces because “Nova Scotia must be their priority.”

“It’s possible that consideration could be given to developing a two-person team in New Brunswick that would work under the direction of the Nova Scotia Director of SIRT,” he said. “This may be an option for New Brunswick rather than creating an individual SIRT.”