North Okanagan officials are being reassured that the actions of police officers are being scrutinized.
Regional District of North Okanagan directors were presented information Wednesday on the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.
“We want to give the public confidence that the police are being held accountable to an independent body,” said Ralph Krenz, IIO spokesperson.
The IIO was formed in 2012 and it has jurisdiction over incidents involving on-duty and off-duty municipal police and the RCMP that result in serious harm or death.
“The goal is to complete fair and thorough investigations,” said Krenz, adding that the agency is also focused on transparency and accountability through public reporting.
Since 2012, the IIO has received 679 notifications of incidents, while 124 investigations have been opened and 94 cases have been closed.
Crown counsel has laid seven criminal charges as a result of the IIO’s work.
Krenz admits there is a lot of pressure on IIO staff when pursuing an investigation.
“We have to get it right so the police officer and the person involved gets a fair shake.”
One growing factor in investigations is the ability of the public to film videos of incidents with their phones.
“It makes our job very easy because it fills in a void,” said Krenz of establishing what happened.
However, Krenz says the entire context of a video must be considered and not just a few scenes.
It’s the prospect of video editing that concerns Lumby director Kevin Acton.
“It can really skew what’s out there both pro and con,” he said.
The presentation to RDNO was just the latest stop for the IIO, which is meeting with local governments and service organizations across B.C.
“We want to increase an understanding (of the agency),” said Krenz.
