Some Thoughts on the Ethics and Practices of Public Inquiries into Policing in Canada
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X0107400305 |
| Date | 01 January 2001 |
| Author | Colin Hayes |
| Published date | 01 January 2001 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
DR COLIN HAYES
Formerly Chief
of
Police, Parry Sound, Ontario,
and
lately
Lecturer in Criminology, The University
of
Texas
of
the Permian
Basin, Odessa
SOME THOUGHTS ON THE
ETHICS AND PRACTICES OF
PUBLIC INQUIRIES INTO
POLICING IN CANADA
Canada, the second largest country in the world covering a landmass of
3,849,675 square miles and with a population in excess of 30,000,000
people, presents policing challenges not found in other smaller nations.
In such a vast area that ranges from large multicultural cities to small
towns and rural farming areas, and encompassing vast areas only
inhabited by aboriginal peoples of Canada's First Nations, presents
many varied policing challenges.
In this mosaic, public inquiries into policing have become a
permanent fixture in the policing landscape of Canada. Often an inquiry
is called because there is a public outcry. Sometimes there is an
appearance of wrongdoing, impropriety, or even brutality on the part of
police officials who, holding positions of public trust, are sworn to
uphold the law.
Conducting these inquiries is very costly on the public purse.
Abbate (1993) notes that the costliest public inquiry in Ontario history,
and one of the longest, was one which released its 600-page report into
the Niagara Regional Police Service in July 1993. The total cost of the
inquiry was estimated by the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General
to be $10,375,000 (approximately 4,716,000 pounds sterling).
All too often we welcome a public inquiry as being the only
powerful and sweeping means of exposing the truth, only to lose sight
of the damage it can inflict on civil liberties and the irreparable harm
that it does to those innocent victims and their families affected by the
testimony and the outcome of the inquiry.
Bindman (1990) reports on a speech given by the late Canadian
Supreme Court Justice John Sopinka who noted:
Public inquiries must not be used simply as a safety valve to release
public steam and save politicians from public scalding, when the
rights of individuals are trampled in the process.
Criminal trials are conducted in accordance with well-established
rules that protect unpopular defendants and unpopular causes from
hasty judgments or excessive retribution. With public inquiries, the
rules often appear to be amended to suit the occasion. A government
2/6
The Police Journal, Volume 74 (2001)
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