Legislation

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) is guided by the Police Act. This legislation gives the Police Complaint Commissioner certain powers to oversee investigations into police misconduct and make recommendations to improve policing. The Act also sets out the rights of complainants and respondent officers. See our Annual Reports for more information.

Changes to the legislation that govern the complaint and disciplinary process for municipal police officers were implemented in April, 2024. The OPCC has been actively engaged with the Provincial Government on these changes, and several amendments relate to recommendations made by the OPCC over the years while seeking improvements to the complaint process.

The changes address recommendations from the 2022 Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act and from the 2019 Special Committee to Review the Police Complaint Process, as well as legislative changes requested by the OPCC. These amendments are an important step towards improving the complaints process and the oversight of municipal policing throughout British Columbia. The OPCC looks forward to continued consultation with Government on broader reforms to the landscape of civilian oversight as additional amendments are implemented in the future.

Noteworthy changes related to oversight include:

• The Commissioner’s ability to self-initiate a systemic investigation. The OPCC will be able to examine and review systemic concerns about policing that align with our general oversight responsibilities. This new mandate will allow the OPCC to act proactively to investigate systemic issues arising from police complaints or problems identified with the complaints process, provide meaningful recommendations aimed at preventing police misconduct and report on these publicly.
• The Commissioner’s ability to call a public hearing sooner in the complaint investigation process. Public Hearings are an important tool to enhance accountability and transparency in serious matters where the public interest requires a timely and transparent public hearing of the facts and circumstances. These hearings take place before a retired judge appointed by the OPCC, who works at arm’s length from our office to make decisions about whether police committed misconduct, what discipline should be imposed, and to recommend any changes to policies or practices to prevent the recurrence of misconduct.
• Expanding the definition of misconduct to include demeaning and discriminatory language, jokes or gestures. This change includes Indigenous and gender identity or expression, and aligns with the BC Human Rights Code.
• The Commissioner’s ability to make binding guidelines to improve timeliness, efficiency, and effectiveness of the complaints process. The OPCC will be able to issue procedural guidelines that police must follow when investigating allegations of misconduct or disciplining officers. This includes the requirement to report concerns of possible misconduct to the OPCC, mandatory cooperation throughout an investigation, and the process for discipline proceedings.

Other oversight related changes that have been brought into force include:

• Giving the Commissioner the ability to designate consultants, experts, etc., to observe an investigation. This ability will add value where an investigation raises special considerations requiring unique expertise or the need to enhance system transparency.
• Giving authority to the Commissioner to establish a list of qualified people to act as discipline authorities, including former senior police officers, retired judges, or those who meet requirements set out in regulation.
• Requiring the Commissioner to maintain and post a list of retired judges to the OPCC website and apply consistent and objective procedures in appointing them for adjudicative matters.