Serious Incident Response Team

Last updated
Serious Incident Response Team
AbbreviationSiRT
FormationDecember, 2010 (legislation), April 20, 2012 (operational) [1]
TypeCivilian Oversight
Purpose"To investigate all matters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and domestic violence or other matters of significant public interest that may have arisen from the actions of any police officer in Nova Scotia." [2]
HeadquartersSuite 203, 1256 Barrington St., Halifax
Region served
Nova Scotia
Director
The Honourable Felix Cacchione, Director [3]
Website SiRT Site

The Serious Incident Response Team is the civilian oversight agency in Nova Scotia, Canada responsible for the investigation of incidents resulted in serious injury or death to any person, sexual assault and domestic violence allegations and other significant public interest matters concerning the police. SiRT has jurisdiction over all municipal police officers and Royal Canadian Mounted Police "H" Division officers, and for all complaints whether on- or off-duty related.

Contents

Organization

SiRT is headed by a civilian director, who has never been a police officer. The Director is responsible for the overall operations of the agency, and to review all investigative reports. [2] The Director has the sole power to determine whether any charges will be laid against subject officers, unless the Director is on leave. During his absence, a specially-trained Crown Counsel is appointed as the Acting Director to decide whether charges are laid. [4]

SiRT is one of the three investigative oversight agencies for police in Canada (the other being the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba and Alberta Serious Incident Response Team) to have current sworn police officers from the Province appointed as investigators. [2] On the other hand, the Special Investigation Unit of Ontario, the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia, and the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes of Quebec prohibits serving police officers from their respective provinces from being appointed as an investigator.

SiRT investigators are peace officers, and have the same powers as police officers in Nova Scotia under section 26G of the Police Act. [5]

SiRT is a member of the Canadian Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (CACOLE). [6]

Jurisdiction

SiRT is the third civilian investigative oversight agency for police in Canada (after the Special Investigations Unit & Alberta Serious Incident Response Team). Its jurisdiction extends to all serving police officers regardless of agency. However, it does not investigate other provincial (known as "Special Constables" under the Police Act), municipal law enforcement officers or civil constables appointed under the Police Services Act.

The Province of Prince Edward Island refers matter that would fall under SiRT mandate in Nova Scotia to the Director for investigation. [7] [8]

Mandate

SiRT investigates all serious incidents where death or serious injuries may have been the result of police action. Further, the SiRT has the mandate to investigate sexual assault and domestic violence committed by any police officers in Nova Scotia. The Minister of Justice and Attorney General, a Chief of Police or on the Director's own motion, SiRT also investigate matters of significant public interest stemming from the actions of a police officer. [5]

SiRT accepts complaint from the general public, provided the incident took place after the operational date of the agency (April 20, 2012).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Canadian Mounted Police</span> Canadian federal police service

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, commonly known in English as the Mounties is the federal and national police service of Canada. As police services are the constitutional responsibility of provinces and territories of Canada, the RCMP's primary responsibility is the enforcement of federal criminal law, and sworn members of the RCMP have jurisdiction as a peace officer in all provinces and territories of Canada. However, the service also provides police services under contract to eight of Canada's provinces, all three of Canada's territories, more than 150 municipalities, and 600 Indigenous communities. In addition to enforcing federal legislation and delivering local police services under contract, the RCMP is responsible for border integrity; overseeing Canadian peacekeeping missions involving police; managing the Canadian Firearms Program, which licenses and registers firearms and their owners; and the Canadian Police College, which provides police training to Canadian and international police services.

Special police usually describes a police force or unit within a police force whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other police in the same force, although there is no consistent international definition. A special constable, in most cases, is not a member of a special police forces (SPF); in countries in the Commonwealth of Nations and often elsewhere, a special constable is a voluntary or part-time member of a national or local police force or a person involved in law enforcement who is not a police officer but has some of the powers of a police officer.

Police commissioner is a senior rank in many police forces of the world. In other jurisdictions, it is the title of a member of an oversight board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Forces Military Police</span>

The Canadian Forces Military Police provide police, security and operational support services to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Department of National Defence (DND) worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Forces National Investigation Service</span>

The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) is the investigative arm of the Canadian Forces Military Police. The CFNIS is an independent military police unit that provides an independent investigative capability for the purpose of fair and impartial administration of military justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halifax Regional Police</span>

The Halifax Regional Police (HRP) is one of a number of law enforcement agencies operating in the Halifax, Nova Scotia; the other primaries being the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Forces Military Police. The city also is home to a small detachment of the Canadian National Railway Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Investigations Unit (Ontario)</span> Civilian police oversight agency of Ontario, Canada

The Special Investigations Unit is the civilian police oversight agency of the province of Ontario, Canada. The SIU is responsible for investigating circumstances involving police that have resulted in a death or serious injury, or if a firearm was discharged at a person. The unit also investigates allegations of sexual assault. The unit's goal is to ensure that criminal law is applied appropriately to police conduct, as determined through independent investigations, increasing public confidence in the police services.

The Ontario Civilian Police Commission, previously known as the Ontario Police Commission and the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services, is an independent quasi-judicial agency, and is one of the 13 adjudicative tribunals overseen by the Ministry of the Attorney General that make up Tribunals Ontario. The OCPC hears appeals, adjudicates applications, conducts investigations and resolves disputes regarding the oversight and provision of policing services in Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement in Canada</span> Overview of law enforcement in Canada

Law enforcement in Canada is the responsibility of police services, special constabularies, and civil law enforcement agencies, which are operated by every level of government, some private and Crown corporations, and First Nations. In contrast to the United States or Mexico, and with the exception of the Unité permanente anticorruption in Quebec and the Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia, there are no organizations dedicated exclusively to the investigation of criminal activity in Canada. Criminal investigations are instead conducted by police services, which maintain specialized criminal investigation units in addition to their mandate for emergency response and general community safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lethbridge Police Service</span>

The Lethbridge Police Service, formerly known as the Lethbridge Regional Police Service, was established 1905, and serves the city of Lethbridge, a community in southern Alberta of approximately 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberta Sheriffs Branch</span> Canadian law enforcement agency

The Alberta Sheriffs Branch is a provincial law enforcement agency overseen by the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services of the province of Alberta, Canada. Under the authority of the Peace Officer Act, Alberta Sheriffs are provincial peace officers with jurisdiction over the province of Alberta. The premier of Alberta has the authority to grant emergency police powers to all Alberta sheriffs during major emergencies within the province. The Alberta Sheriffs Branch is the largest sheriff service in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Crime Agency</span> National law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom

The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and international borders; but it can be tasked to investigate any crime. The NCA has a strategic role as part of which it looks at serious crime in aggregate across the UK, especially analysing how organised criminals are operating and how they can be disrupted. To do this, it works closely with regional organised crime units (ROCUs), local police forces, and other government departments and agencies.

A special constable or special police constable can refer to an auxiliary or part-time law enforcement officer or a person who is granted certain (special) police powers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Investigations Office</span>

The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) is the civilian oversight agency in British Columbia, Canada responsible for examining and investigating incidents involving on or off duty municipal police officers, Stl’atl’imx Tribal Police Service, Metro Vancouver Transit Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers based in BC, Special Provincial Constables, Special Municipal Constables and Auxiliary Constables that result in death or serious harm.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is the civilian oversight agency in Alberta, Canada responsible for the investigation of incidents resulted in serious injury or death to any person, as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct. ASIRT has jurisdiction over all municipal police officers and Royal Canadian Mounted Police "K" Division officers, and for all complaints whether on or off duty related.

The Independent Investigation Unit is the civilian oversight agency in Manitoba, Canada responsible for the investigation of incidents resulted in serious injury or death to any person. IIU has jurisdiction over all municipal police officers, First Nations police officers and Royal Canadian Mounted Police "D" Division officers, for all complaints on or off duty related.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office of the Independent Police Review Director</span>

The Office of the Independent Police Review Director is an independent civilian oversight agency that handles public complaints regarding police conduct in the Canadian province of Ontario. The agency oversees municipal police services and the Ontario Provincial Police.

References

  1. The First Year in Review: 2012-2013 Annual Report
  2. 1 2 3 About SiRT
  3. Tutton, Michael (April 25, 2018). "An unlikely police watchdog takes office, envisioning an 'inquisitorial system'". Atlantic.
  4. "SiRT 2014-2015 Annual Report" (PDF).
  5. 1 2 "Police Act" (PDF).
  6. Enforcement, Canadian Association for Civilian Oversight of Law (January 1, 2010). "Canadian Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement". www.cacole.ca.
  7. "Ontario's police watchdog lags behind others in transparency". thestar.com. April 20, 2016.
  8. Investigation into senior officers with RNC will take months longer