November 11, 2016 – Vol

A Chronicle of News for the Law Enforcement Community November 11, 2016 – Vol. 21 No. 46 PRIVATE POLICE NEED MORE OVERSIGHT Nov 04 2016 OTTAWA - A federal review of national security will consider whether Canada’s spy service should be able to sift through the kind of personal data it kept illegally for years, says Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale. Page 3 Nov 04 2016 HALIFAX - A judge has dismissed a charge against a Halifax magazine writer accused of breaching a publication ban in a story that painted an unflattering portrait of an off-duty Nova Scotia police officer whose body was found dumped near an overpass. Page 4 Nov 06 2016 Nov 05 2016 OTTAWA - Private police have exploded finds lax licensing requirements and a lack of OTTAWA - Municipal politicians in numbers in recent years, but Canada oversight are failing to keep the activities of in Ottawa are applauding the clo- is lagging behind other countries in private investigators, analysts and guards in sure of a string of marijuana dis- tracking their often-covert activities - check. pensaries operating illegally something that experts warn could “This has a number of consequences, in- across the city in response to compromise privacy and public safety cluding an inability to ensure that private se- mounting complaints. if growth continues unchecked. curity companies are not vulnerable to organ- Page 5 ized crime, unethical and/or illegal behaviour,” Nov 08 2016 “There is little or no governance or oversight of private security firms in Canada, no the report said. The case of an Ontario woman mechanisms that require standardized report- The report, released to CBC News, comes who argued to be recognized as ing by private security firms, and only mini- amid news reports about questionable surveil- a victim of crime because she mal standards in place for licensing, training lance and data collection activities of Cana- developed post-traumatic stress and discipline of the various positions within dian police and spy agencies. Two Quebec disorder after serving as a juror the private security industry,” reads a research police forces have come under fire for track- in a horrific murder trial has been report prepared for Public Safety Canada. ing the cellphones of journalists, while a fed- settled. Provincial and federal statutes, including eral court condemned the Canadian Security Page 7 Intelligence Service for illegally retaining the Nov 10 2016 privacy rules, govern surveillance and the collection and use of information. But the report metadata of people not under investigation. OTTAWA - Two class-action law- suits arising out of the chaotic Toronto G20 summit more than six years ago appear destined for trial after the country’s highest court refused on Thursday to get involved. Page 9 The report finds a “potential” for private report. family, have requested an autopsy by the chief security to play an important role in commu- Michael Kempa, a criminologist at the coroner. nity safety. But it warns of the dangers of an University of Ottawa, said the areas where There is video of most of what happened, expanding role in the national security appa- private agents operate - including shopping but street and car lights in the video are mak- ratus that falls largely under the radar. Huge malls, university campuses and condominium ing it difficult to see. It has been sent to Ed- disparity lobbies and parking lots - is ever expanding. monton police to try to clarify the images, Curt Griffiths, a criminologist at B.C.’s That means citizens are forgoing rights to the police chief said. Simon Fraser Univer- those who are enforcing “arbitrary rules of the (CJWW) sity who co-authored proprietors,” Kempa said. the report, called the Without regulation, the uncontrolled Nov 03 2016 growing business of growth of the industry could become a “mas- EDMONTON - An Edmonton judge has private security an sive problem,” including an inequality of pro- tossed out a sexual assault charge “unregulated field.” tection and safety services between the rich against an Alberta man as a result of The lack of over- and the poor. the “unexplained” loss by the RCMP sight and a huge dis- “As these agencies claw into ever more of an audio-recorded statement from parity among prov- functions, one day you’ll turn around and re- the alleged victim. inces and territories on alize that public police has taken a back seat In a ruling released this week, Court of training and back- to private actors who are not monitored in the Queen’s Bench Justice Denny Thomas issued ground checks, com- same way,” Kempa said. a judicial stay of the 2015 sexual assault plaint mechanisms, auditing and reporting But Christopher Murphy, a sociologist at charge against the 21-year-old accused man. raise the risk of private investigators intrud- Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University, believes “Balancing the societal interest of hav- ing on privacy by “sleuthing around,” or “mall public and private police have distinct roles. ing a full trial on the merits of this charge cops” who might abuse authority. “We don’t want highly paid, highly before a jury and the right of the accused to A robust oversight and accountability re- trained, legally empowered police officers make full answer and defence, I conclude that gime is long overdue, Griffiths said. doing some of the important but low-level, this is one of those ‘clearest of cases’ where “The role of the federal government, ide- low-skilled, not-necessarily-legally-connected a stay should be granted to respect the rights ally, would be to develop some national stand- activities, such as providing presence in a of the accused,” said Thomas in his written ards for private security so you get rid of the neighbourhood,” he said. decision, variability across jurisdictions and bring eve- Police officers enforce the law, while pri- The man had sought a stay of the charge, ryone up to the same level,” he told CBC vate security personnel have a broader man- arguing the “unexplained” loss of key evi- News. date. Instead of competing, he said, they dence by the Mounties was so prejudicial to His 104-page report found the number of should find ways to better co-ordinate and in- his right to make full answer and defence that licensed security companies and individuals tegrate services. he would not get a fair trial. is far outpacing the growth of public police As for keeping private actors in check, he The Crown had conceded that the loss of officers. said employees can be fired if they are acting the complainant’s audio statement meant the In 2012, according to the report, there were inappropriately, abusing authority or bringing prosecution had not met their disclosure obli- about 140,000 individuals and 3,000 busi- ill repute to the company. gation and it was therefore a breach of the ac- nesses licensed in Canada’s private security (CBC News) cused’s Charter rights, but had argued there was industry. That marks a 40-per-cent increase in other evidence available to the defence which just five years. would have mitigated the prejudice to him. Meanwhile, over roughly the same period However, Thomas disagreed, ruling the - between 1999 and 2014, the number of po- THURSDAY accused had been denied the ability to con- lice officers increased by 18.7 per cent, top- NOVEMBER 3, 2016 duct a “crucial” cross examination of the al- ping out at 68,896 officers, according to the leged victim on the contents of her missing Nov 03 2016 statement and finding that there was neither a “practical nor fair way” to mitigate the SASKATOON - Police in Saskatoon are prejudice. investigating whether an officer’s use “I conclude that there are no other meas- of force contributed to a 21-year-old ures which could be used here to overcome suspect’s death. the prejudice caused by the unexplained loss ISSN 1704-3913 Chief Clive Weighill says the officer, who Copyright 2016 of the second statement,” said Thomas. Blue Line Magazine & The Canadian Press has been with the force for 10 years, is on Court heard the woman had a sexual as- Permission to reprint may be obtained in advance from administrative duties for now. sault examination done by a doctor that morn- Annex Business Media Jordan Lafond was a passenger in a sto- Phone 905 713-4387 eMail: [email protected] ing and the police went to her mother’s home len truck involved in a police chase on Oct. Published weekly by Annex Business Media as an executive that afternoon to obtain a detailed statement news briefing service to Canada’s top level law enforcement 23. personnel. from her. Weighill says Lafond appeared to have Most information supplied in this publication is from newswire This longer interview was recorded on a services. As such Blue Line Magazine does not accept been ejected from the truck when it crashed responsibility for the accuracy of articles as supplied. handheld digital recorder and the officer also into a fence at a Saskatoon high school. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be made “very sparse” handwritten notes. The He says police believed he was trying to reproduced, stored in an electronic database or transmitted in officer later reviewed those notes and listened any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording resist arrest and one officer used his knee to or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. to the recording as she prepared her typed One Year Subscriptions are $10500 (GST Included). Paid take the suspect into custody. subscribers may make up to four (4) copies of this publication report for disclosure purposes.

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