An external investigation will be conducted after a complaint has been made about VicPD conduct.
The Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board announced they received a complaint on February 16th.
According to a report by the Canadian Press, the complaint is coming from a former Police Board member, Paul Schachter.
His complaint is reportedly tied to the corrupt officers who lied to the courts during a massive drug case dubbed ‘Project Juliet,’ that compromised the deliverance of justice and the integrity of VicPD as an organization.
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The board, which Esquimalt Mayor Barbara Desjardins co-chairs, decided to delegate how to handle this particular complaint to its Governance Committee, to avoid a conflict of interest.
“Integrity and accountability are key values of the Victoria Police Department and it’s important that the Board has input from the citizens of Victoria and Esquimalt in our governance of the Department,” said Desjardins.
“As a Board we have confidence in the policies, training and leadership within our Department, which we pay very close attention to, but we have a responsibility to listen and respond to concerns from our communities.”
The board says the complaint includes six points of concern, but would not elaborate on the nature of the complaint or these concerns.
The only additional information regarding the concerns they released is that the Delta Police Department will handle four of the points of concern.
This is because they are tied specifically to an ongoing Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) investigation regarding the handling of Project Juliet already being handled by Delta Police.
The other two concerns will be investigated by Surrey Police Service.
Victoria Buzz reached out to the OPCC for further detail on the nature of this complaint, but as of this publication, have not received a response.
“We take submissions seriously and felt that an external review was necessary to ensure transparency and public trust,” said Governance Committee Chair Paul Faoro.
“We feel confident that the Delta Police Department and Surrey Police Service will be able to effectively review these concerns and provide the Governance Committee with enough information to recommend a course of action to the Board.”
The Governance Committee says they expect an initial update to be delivered to them in fall 2024.
