The lack of transparency seems to be continuing at the Cobourg Police Service.
The “uproar” began after Today’s Northumberland published parts of a letter from a person who indicated allegations happening within the service.
None of the allegations are proven and at this point they are just that – allegations.
The Chief of Cobourg Police, the Police Association and the Senior Officers Association condemned the publishing of parts of the letter.
Chief VandeGraaf stated in a release that he was “dismayed” that Today’s Northumberland published the article calling it “irresponsible.”
“Public trust, transparency, and accountability are at the core of the police service.”
President of the Cobourg Police Association Rich Ferguson said, “as President of the Cobourg Police Association, he was “deeply disappointed” by the article and the unverified allegations.
Chair of the Senior Officers Association Lisa Munday said they were “carelessly published.”
“We understand the impact such allegations can have on the trust and confidence of the public and the members of the police service.”
At a Town Hall meeting on November 7 at the Lions Centre, Cobourg Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf held an open meeting for anyone to ask questions concerning the service.
Both VandeGraaf and Chair of the Police Services Board Ron Kerr made opening remarks before the mic was open to questions from the public.
Kerr said, “the Board provides governance to the Police Service by establishing policies for the administration and effective management of the police service, promoting transparency and accountability at the core.”
But there was one key sentence that Kerr said.
“We encourage the member who wrote the letter to come forward to help us understand things more fully.”
Again, none of the allegations have been proven. None!
But it was a surprise to hear Kerr say those words after the statement coming from the Chief, Police Association and Senior Officers Association.
So, Today’s Northumberland reached out by e-mail the night of the town hall meeting and asked for a copy of what was said in the opening remarks.
We wanted to know, did Kerr accidentally misspeak? Maybe he didn’t want to say “the member” and wanted to say something in more general terms.
Kerr stated the morning of November 8, “My notes were simply headings of points I wished to address and were nothing substantive , as a result, I have nothing to share.”
Reaching out to the Police Service for what VandeGraaf said in his opening remarks, Manager of Communication Lisa Munday said, “We are not providing speaking notes to the media,” advising the video of the evening would be posted on the Cobourg Police Service YouTube channel later in the day – which it was.
Watching the video posted by the police service, it would certainly seem that both Kerr and VandeGraaf are reading word for word what is in print.
They didn’t seem to be reading “simply headings of points.”
The notes also appeared to be typed out.
So a Freedom of Information request was done on November 12 asking for a copy of the opening remarks.
Nothing more.
What could be wrong with that?
After all, both the Chief and Chair of the Board have spoken, even boasted about how transparent the service is.
The service had 30-days to respond to the Freedom of Information request.
On the 24th day, (Friday December 6, 2024) the delivery came by courier stating the Executive Assistant/FOI Coordinator Christine Miller denied the request, stating, “I am responsible for this decision.”
In the letter Miller refers to section 15 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: “A head may refuse to disclose a record if, the record or the information contained in the record has been published or is currently available to the public.”
The key word that stands out in Section 15 is the word “may.”
They “may refuse to disclose a record.”
But what happened to “transparency?”
Sure they can and did refuse the request, but if the Service and Board are so “transparent,” why would they?
And why would it take 24-days to come up with that answer?
Seems rather simple for a FOI Coordinator.
Miller also states that the video is available along with the transcript of the meeting.
But is what was transcribed in the notes from the audio/video actually what was in print for the opening remarks from the Chief and Chair.
Again, the allegations in the letter are simply that. Nothing more, nothing less.
But at the end of the day, what the Chair of the Police Services Board said in his opening remarks on November 7 at the Lions Centre is the same conclusion Today’s Northumberland had after reading the letter.
It was written by a member of the service.
Whether it’s factual is another story.
Not releasing the typed written notes read in a public meeting certainly doesn’t bode for transparency – again.
Another interesting item was when the Deputy Inspector General of Policing of Ontario Joseph Maiorano sent a reply to the Cobourg Police Services Board on December 3.
The Cobourg Police Services Board initially asked for an investigation on November 3 into the anonymous letter sent to Today’s Northumberland. The decision by the Deputy Inspector General of Policing of Ontario was declined because it was an anonymous complaint.
The decision also stated, “The information contained in your correspondence consisted of a copy of an anonymous complaint that was sent to the Board.”
Was there another copy of the letter sent to the Police Services Board?
The Board has never stated there was a letter sent directly to them as it stated in the decision by the Deputy Inspector General of Policing.
Today’s Northumberland sent an e-mail at 10 a.m. on Friday, December 6 to the Chair of the Police Services Board and the Cobourg Police Chief asking for clarification.
As of December 7 at 10 p.m., Today’s Northumberland has received no reply.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
