The First Voice Working Group has released their final report into strengthening police oversight in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The report, titled Building Trust, Restoring Confidence, includes a total of 26 recommendations that government is being urged to implement.
Those recommendations can be broken down into five groups.
The digital version of the Final Report of the @FirstVoiceNL Working Group on Police Oversight is now live. #MMIWG #NationalDayofAction
Download it here: https://t.co/787YKsl0oz. pic.twitter.com/jn36Itq0So
— First Voice (@FirstVoiceNL) October 4, 2022
Groups one and two focus on establishing a civilian-led Police Oversight Board that is politically neutral, independent of police, and reflects the province’s diverse communities.
Group three’s recommendations look at streamlining the public complaints process, while group four focuses on improving confidence in the serious incident response team.
The final group of recommendations look at areas where further research and policy change will be needed to ensure the police and police-like organizations are serving the public interest.
One such recommendation is phasing out contract policing by the RCMP in Newfoundland and Labrador by 2030.
Justice Minister John Hogan was in attendance and formally accepted a copy of the report. He wouldn’t commit to implementing any specific recommendations yet, nor would he commit to any timelines, noting they want to do things right and that they will begin the work without delay.
Juatice Minister John Hogan receives a copy of the report @FirstLight_NL @VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/3MRhBmh3JT
— Richard Duggan (@RDugganVOCM) October 4, 2022
