Complaints

The Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA) an independent arms-length agency of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. The LECA provides an objective, impartial office to accept, process and oversee the investigation of public complaints against Ontario's police.

Complaint forms are available at the LECA and on their website, all Service Ontario locations, all police stations and in many community centres and legal clinics.

It is best to make your complaint within six months of the incident. Complaints received after six months may be screened out.

The Director may choose to accept a complaint after the six month period if:

• The complainant is a youth (18 and younger)
• The complainant has a disability as defined by the Accessibility for Ontarians with a Disabilities Act (AODA)
• A criminal case in relation to the incident is pending or ongoing
• It is in the public interest to deal with the complaint

Complaints Made at a Police Station

Complainants are able to file their complaint at any police station in Ontario.

All police services must ensure that complaint forms and LECA brochures are displayed and available to the general public.

Where a complaint is received at a police station, the police service must forward the completed complaint form to the LECA electronically or by fax within three business days, with the original to follow by mail or courier.

The officer receiving the complaint will process it in confidence and will not release information that would cause the respondent or witness officers to receive notification of the complaint.

Where a complaint has been received at a police station, and after reviewing the complaint, the Chief of Police or designate feels they may be able to resolve the matter through an appropriate Local Response, they may do so with the consent of the complainant, Chief of Police and respondent officer. A local Response summary must be sent to LECA for review.

Complaints against Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs cannot be resolved through local resolution.

Local Response

Local Response Complaints can be used to resolve minor allegations of misconduct. Such complaints are to be resolved at the Team level by a supervisor. Ideally, the supervisor, resolving the complaint, should be the one to whom the officer reports however, when that is not practicable, any supervisor, superior in rank to the officer, may resolve the complaint.

Before attempting a Local Response you and the respondent officer need to know that a copy of the local response summary as well as notification of the potential misconduct will be sent to the LECA.

There are different ways of dealing with a complaint using Local Response. These may include:

• Immediate resolution by providing information face-to-face
• A letter from the police concluding the Local Response and explaining what has been done
• Individual communication between the complainant and the respondent officer(s), organized through the person dealing with the Local Response.
• Creating an opportunity for a face-to-face meeting between the officer, the complainant and the person facilitating the resolution process. The respondent officer(s) will need to agree to a face-to-face meeting taking place.

For further information on LECA, please visit their website: LECA

Inspectorate of Policing

The Inspector General serves the public interest by promoting accountability in the policing sector, operating at arm’s length from the government.

We provide regulatory oversight to ensure compliance with the Community Safety and Policing Act and its regulations.

Inadequate or ineffective policing

You can file a complaint with the Inspectorate of Policing if you believe a police service or police service board is not providing adequate and effective policing, as described in the Community Safety and Policing Act and its regulations.

Police service board member misconduct

You can file a complaint with the Inspectorate of Policing if you believe a member of a police service board has violated the Code of Conduct, as outlined in the Community Safety and Policing Act.

Other policing complaints

You can file a complaint with the Inspectorate of Policing if you believe that a police service, police service board, or organization that employs special constables is not in compliance with any relevant part of the Community Safety and Policing Act or its regulations.

Complaints regarding a police service board’s policies or procedures established by a Chief of Police may be referred to responsible police service board. When this happens, the police service board must inform us of the outcome.

For further information on the Inspectorate of Policing, you may contact the IOP using the following: Ontario’s Inspectorate of Policing