Second

Session, 48th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2017

BILL 24

SERIOUS INCIDENT

RESPONSE TEAM ACT

Received and Read the First Time .................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ..........................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

ANDREW PARSONS, Q.C.

Minister of Justice and Public Safety and Attorney

General

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would enact the Serious Incident Response Team Act .

The Bill would establish the

civilian-led Serious Incident Response Team.

The team would be responsible for investigating all matters that involve

a death, a serious injury, a sexual offence, domestic violence and other

matters of significant public interest that arise from actions of a police

officer in the province.

A BILL

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A SERIOUS INCIDENT

RESPONSE TEAM FOR THE PROVINCE

Analysis

Short title

Definitions

Serious Incident Response Team

Director

Interim director

Director responsible to minister

Investigators and employees

Agency assistance to Serious Incident

Response Team

Powers of director and investigators

Agreements

Notifying director of serious incident

Investigations

Investigation update

Report

Determining whether charges will be laid

Investigative file available to

disciplinary authority

Investigation

summary

Annual report

Confidentiality

Regulations

SNL2015 cA-1.2 Amdt.

Commencement

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

Short title

1. This

Act may be cited as the Serious Incident

Response Team Act .

Definitions

2. In

this Act

(a) "agency" means the Royal

Newfoundland Constabulary, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or another police

service;

(b) "chief officer" means the chief of

police of an agency;

(c) "director" means the civilian

director of the Serious Incident Response Team appointed under

section 4;

(d) "minister" means the minister

appointed under the Executive Council Act

to administer this Act;

(e) "police officer" means a member of

an agency;

(f) "serious incident" means a death, a serious

injury, a sexual offence, domestic violence or any matter of significant public

interest that may have arisen from the actions of a police officer in the

province; and

(g) "Serious Incident Response Team"

means the team established by this Act and includes the director, investigators

and other employees appointed to the team.

Serious Incident

Response Team

(1) There is established a Serious Incident Response Team to provide oversight of

policing by providing independent investigation of serious incidents involving

police officers in the province.

(2) The team may also provide independent

oversight assistance or conduct an investigation in another province in

accordance with an agreement entered into under the authority of

section 10.

Director

(1) The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall appoint a person to be the civilian director

of the Serious Incident Response Team.

(2) A person who is a current or former police

officer in any jurisdiction shall not be appointed as the director.

(3) The director shall be appointed for a term not

exceeding 5 years and may be reappointed

for an additional term not exceeding 5 years.

(4) The director shall be paid the salary and

other remuneration that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may determine.

(5) The director ceases to hold office upon

(

a) the expiry of his or her term;

(

b) his or her resignation in writing to the minister;

(

c) his or her termination by the Lieutenant-Governor

in Council.

Interim director

(1) The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint an interim director for one term not

exceeding one year where the director

(

a) ceases to hold office; or

(

b) is unable to perform the duties of his or her

office.

(2) The director may, after consultation with the

Director of Public Prosecutions, designate a Crown Attorney to act as the acting

director in place of the director while the director is absent or unable to

perform the duties of his or her office.

(3) Where the director is unable to designate an

acting director, the minister may, after consultation with the Director of

Public Prosecutions, designate a Crown Attorney to act as the acting director

in place of the director while the director is absent or unable to perform the

duties of his or her office.

(4) An act done by an interim director or an acting

director appointed under this

section has the same effect as if it were done by

the director.

(5) An acting director appointed under this

section shall be

(

a) appointed for a period not exceeding 3 months;

and

(

b) seconded from his or her position as a Crown Attorney

to the acting director's position.

Director

responsible to minister

6. The

director is responsible to the minister for

(

a) the direction of the Serious Incident Response

Team and the police officers and other resources assigned to the team from

agencies for the purpose of assisting the team;

(

b) the direction of investigations and reporting

of serious incidents involving police officers;

(

c) the administration of the budget of the team; and

(

d) the discharge of other duties and functions assigned

under this Act or the regulations.

Investigators and

employees

(1) The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the director,

appoint the investigators necessary for the purpose of assisting the Serious

Incident Response Team.

(2) The investigators shall be paid the salary and

other remuneration that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may determine.

(3) The employees required by the team to carry

out its powers, duties and functions shall be appointed or employed in the

manner authorized by law.

Agency assistance

to Serious Incident Response Team

(1) The

minister may direct a chief officer to select qualified police officers and

other resources from the agency to assist the Serious Incident Response Team and

the chief officer shall select police officers for that purpose and advise the

director accordingly.

(2) Upon consultation with the chief officer, the director

may assign police officers selected under subsection (1) from the agency to assist

an investigation.

(3) Where a police officer is assigned by the director

under this section, that police officer reports solely to, and is under the

sole command and direction of, the director with respect to that investigation

but remains the financial responsibility of the agency from which the officer

was selected.

(4) A person shall not perform the role of a team

commander or a lead investigator in an investigation relating to a police

officer where that person is a member of the same agency.

Powers of director

and investigators

9. The

director and the investigators acting under the authority of this Act have

(

a) all the powers, duties and immunities of a

peace officer and constable at common law or under any Act; and

(

b) jurisdiction throughout the province while

carrying out those duties and exercising those powers.

Agreements

(1) The

the government of another province or a municipality as required to undertake

the work of or related to the Serious Incident Response Team.

(2) On the recommendation of the director, the minister

government of another province or a municipality to allow the Serious Incident Response

Team to provide independent oversight assistance or conduct an investigation.

(3) An agreement entered into with the Government

of Canada or the government of another province under this

section is not an intergovernmental

agreement within the meaning of the Intergovernmental

Affairs Act .

Notifying director

of serious incident

(1) A

chief officer shall notify the director as soon as practicable where the chief

officer believes that a serious incident may have occurred.

(2) Where the minister believes that a serious incident

may have occurred and the chief officer has not notified the director, the

minister may notify the director.

Investigations

12. Upon

notification of a serious incident under

section 11 or where the director

becomes aware of a serious incident, the director may do one or more of the

following:

(

a) arrange for an investigation to be undertaken

by the Serious Incident Response Team, which may include taking over an ongoing

investigation at any stage;

(

b) refer the matter to an agency to conduct an

investigation, which may include taking over an ongoing investigation at any stage;

(

c) upon consultation with a chief officer, assign

one or more police officers selected under subsection 8(1) to assist or advise

an agency that is investigating a serious incident or to assist or advise the Serious

Incident Response Team investigating a serious incident;

(

d) enter into an agreement to have an independent

team or agency from another province conduct an investigation;

(

e) direct that the Serious Incident Response Team

oversee, observe, monitor or review an investigation by an agency;

(

f) appoint a community liaison or observer to

work with the Serious Incident Response Team in the course of an investigation;

(

g) refer the matter to the chief officer or Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Public

Complaints Commission under

section 19 of the Royal Newfoundland

Constabulary Act, 1992 ;

(

h) refer the matter under the complaints process

Part VII of the Royal Canadian Mounted

Police Act ( Canada );

(

i) determine that the matter is not within the

mandate of the Serious Incident Response Team.

Investigation

update

(1) Not

later than 45 days after an investigation under paragraph 12(

a) is started, and

every 45 days thereafter while the investigation is ongoing, the director shall

provide an update of the investigation to

(

a) the minister;

(

b) the chief officer of the agency in which the

police officer under investigation is or was employed;

(

c) the police officer under investigation; and

(

d) a person directly affected by the serious

incident or where he or she is deceased, his or her family.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the director

is not required to provide an update where he or she is of the opinion that it

would unreasonably interfere with an investigation.

(3) An update shall be in the form prescribed by

the regulations.

Report

14. Upon

the conclusion of an investigation under paragraph 12(

a) or as requested by the

director, the Serious Incident Response Team shall submit a report to the director

in the form prescribed by the director.

Determining

whether charges will be laid

(1) Upon

the conclusion of an investigation by the Serious Incident Response Team under paragraph

12(

a) and receipt of the report from the team under

section 14, the director

shall

(

a) consult with the Director of Public

Prosecutions; and

(

b) determine whether a charge shall be laid.

(2) Upon the conclusion of an investigation by an

agency under paragraph 12(b), that agency shall

(

a) consult with the Director of Public

Prosecutions; and

(

b) determine whether a charge shall be laid.

(3) Upon the conclusion of an investigation by a

team or agency under paragraph 12(d), that team or agency shall

(

a) consult with the Director of Public

Prosecutions; and

(

b) determine whether a charge shall be laid.

Investigative

file available to disciplinary authority

16. Upon

conclusion of an investigation by the Serious Incident Response Team under paragraph

12(a), the director shall provide the investigative file of the team to the

chief officer of the agency in which the police officer under investigation is or

was employed.

Investigation

summary

(1) As

soon as reasonably practicable but no later than 3 months after receiving a

report under

section 14, the director shall provide a

summary of an

investigation conducted in accordance with paragraph 12(

a) to

(

a) the minister;

(

b) the chief officer of the agency in which the

police officer under investigation is or was employed;

(

c) the police officer under investigation; and

(

d) a person directly affected by the serious

incident or where he or she is deceased, his or her family.

(2) The

summary shall be in the form prescribed by

the regulations.

(3) The director or the minister shall provide a

summary of an investigation to the public in the form prescribed by the regulations.

Annual report

18. The

director shall submit an annual report to the minister respecting the operations

of the Serious Incident Response Team which shall include

(

a) the number of investigations started and

concluded in the year;

(

b) the nature of each investigation;

(

c) the result of each investigation;

(

d) the number of charges against police officers

laid in the year;

(

e) other administrative and financial details as

the minister may direct; and

(

f) those other matters as prescribed by the regulations.

Confidentiality

19. The

director, an investigator, an employee of the Serious Incident Response Team

and all persons acting under this Act shall preserve secrecy in respect of all

information obtained in the course of his or her duties and shall not disclose

that information to another person except as required in connection with the administration

of this Act or as required by law.

Regulations

20. The

minister may make regulations

(

a) prescribing the duties of the director;

(

b) respecting notifications of serious incidents;

(

c) respecting investigations;

(

d) respecting investigation updates;

(

e) respecting investigation summaries;

(

f) respecting annual reports;

(

g) defining a word or expression that is used but

not defined in this Act; and

(

h) generally, to give effect to the purpose of

this Act.

SNL2015 cA-1.2

Amdt.

21. (1) Subsection 5(1) of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2015 is

amended by adding immediately after paragraph (

k) the following:

(k.1) a record relating to an investigation by the

Serious Incident Response Team as defined under the Serious Incident Response Team Act if all matters in respect of the

investigation have not been completed;

(2) Subsection 5(1) of the Act is amended by deleting

the word "or" and the end of paragraph (l), by deleting the period at

the end of paragraph (

m) and substituting a semi-colon and the word

"or", and by adding immediately after that paragraph the following:

(

n) a record relating to an investigation by the

Serious Incident Response Team as defined under the Serious Incident Response Team Act in which suspicion of guilt of a

police officer is expressed but no charge was ever laid, or relating to

prosecutorial consideration of that investigation.

Commencement

22. This Act comes into force on a day to be

proclaimed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

Queen's Printer