Resources

What the Evidence Shows

• Police accountability systems often fail to deliver meaningful accountability

• Systemic racism in policing is widely documented and persistent

• Existing oversight and inquest processes repeatedly identify the same gaps

• Recommendations are made — but too often not implemented

1. Critiques of Police Accountability Systems

Focus: Assessing existing police accountability frameworks.

• Independent Review of the Manitoba Police Services Act, 2009
  An independent review assessing how Manitoba’s police oversight regime operates in practice, including the effectiveness and independence of its accountability mechanisms.
  → https://www.manitoba.ca/asset_library/en/proactive/2020_2021/Independent-Review-Manitoba-Police-Services-Act-Sept2020.pdf

• Report of the Independent Police Oversight Review
  Critiques of Ontario police oversight bodies, including lack of independence, structure, transparency .
  →https://www.siu.on.ca/pdfs/report_of_the_independent_police_oversight_review.pdf

• Independent Investigations Office of BC – Systemic Issues Reports
  Identifies recurring failures in investigations of police-involved deaths.
  → https://iiobc.ca

• Ontario Ombudsman – Oversight Reports (e.g., SIU reviews)
  Criticism of transparency and effectiveness in police oversight investigations.
  → https://www.ombudsman.on.ca

• Oversight and accountability for serious incidents in Canada: Who polices the police?
  Essay examining agencies responsible for examining, death or serious injury by police
  → https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/capa.12538

2. Systemic Racism in Policing

Focus: Evidence of structural bias and disproportionate impact

• House of Commons – Systemic Racism in Policing (2021)
  National report documenting disproportionate policing of Indigenous and Black communities.
  → https://www.ourcommons.ca

• Assembly of First Nations – Policing and Justice Materials
  Highlights over-policing and lack of culturally appropriate accountability.
  → https://afn.ca

3. Existing Systems (Manitoba Focus)

Focus: What currently exists — and its limits

• Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba (IIU)
  Investigates police-involved deaths and serious incidents. Reports illustrate how cases are assessed and the limits of current oversight structures.
  → https://www.iiumanitoba.ca

• Manitoba Inquest Reports
  Public inquiries into deaths involving state systems, including police. These reports often contain detailed recommendations for reform.

  Key examples to include:

  • Seven Youth Inquest (Manitoba)
    Findings on systemic failures affecting Indigenous youth across multiple systems, including policing.

  • Brian Sinclair Inquest
    Foundational case on systemic racism and institutional failure in public systems.

• Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth Reports
  Investigations into systemic failures affecting youth, including interactions with policing and justice systems.
  → https://manitobaadvocate.ca

4. Criticism and Commentary

Focus: Analysis, lived experience, and calls for reform

• Academic and Policy Commentary
  Research analyzing patterns of police violence, systemic discrimination, and accountability gaps.

• Community and Advocacy Reports
  Materials produced by families, grassroots organizations, and civil society documenting lived experience and proposing reforms.

• Legal Commentary and Submissions
  Analyses arising from inquests, litigation, and policy reform efforts that highlight structural issues and propose changes to law and oversight mechanisms.