NEWS
18 Obiter Dicta
Toronto police
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The Star investigation found roughly one in five of
350 officers disciplined in the last five years were disciplined because he or she was guilty of assaulting his
or her spouse, drunk driving, possessing drugs, or
theft. The investigation also found nearly 50 officers
were disciplined more than once, some just months
after being penalized for past misconduct.
It is particularly contradictory that someone with
a police record would almost never be hired as a cop,
but the same treatment does not apply to people
within the police force. Many police officers convicted
of criminal offences are allowed to keep working; the
Star investigation found that only seven police officers were forced out of their jobs.
Vince Hawkes, an OPP Commissioner, has stated
he believes police chiefs do not have the tools to
correctly punish police officers, as the current law
doesn’t give them enough power to terminate police
officers for serious misconduct. Therefore, there seem
to be institutional barriers that continue to produce a
bubble of protection for police officers who have been
convicted of offences.
Additionally, when hearing officers do administer harsher punishments, including dismissal, officers commonly complain to the