By Cecilia Nasmith/Northumberland 89.7 FM/Today’s Northumberland
The Cobourg Police Services Board has made official at its March meeting what they decided at a recent special March 5 meeting – they will no longer entertain anonymous complaints.
A four-page policy paper called Complaints of Misconduct sets out how complaints will be handled, and it includes a brief section on anonymous ones.
In its entirety, the clause reads:
“The Cobourg Police Services Board will not investigate anonymous complaints. This policy aligns with the practice of the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA) and the Inspectorate of Policing (IOP), neither of which consider anonymous complaints.
“Any member of the Cobourg Police Service who wishes to make a disclosure confidentially may do so under Section 185 of the Community Safety and Policing Act 2019 (CSPA) by contacting the Inspectorate of Policing at iopdisclosures@ontario.ca or by phone at 416-314-4130 or 1-888-333-5078.”
Since November, the board struggled with serious allegations made against members of the Cobourg Police Service in an anonymous letter sent to Today’s Northumberland from someone purporting to be part of the Cobourg Police Services management team. The March 5 meeting detailed steps that had been taken, including a report from Chief Paul VandeGraaf, reviews by the board and advice from legal counsel.
In the end, board chair Adam Bureau said at the time, the anonymous nature of the allegations prevented meaningful investigation – therefore, the board had adopted the policy of not acting upon anonymous complaints.
That decision was finalized and the documentation adopted at the board’s regular March meeting.
