2nd Session, 43rd Legislature
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Bill 219
THE POLICE SERVICES AMENDMENT ACT (OBLIGATION TO RESPOND TO POLICE WRONGDOINGS)
| Bilingual version (PDF) | Explanatory Note |
(Assented to )
HIS MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:
C.C.S.M. c. P94.5 amended
1 The Police Services Act is amended by this Act.
2 The following is added after section 25 as part of Division 1 of Part 4:
Duty to intervene
25.1(1) A police officer who is reasonably able to do so must intervene when the police officer observes another police officer engaging in a wrongdoing.
Duty to report
25.1(2) A police officer must report in writing to the police chief of the police service that employs them if the police officer observes another police officer engaging in a wrongdoing.
Timing of report
25.1(3) The police officer obligated to make a report must do so within 24 hours after observing the wrongdoing.
Interpretation of "wrongdoing"
25.1(4) A police officer commits a wrongdoing if the police officer
(a) uses any force that exceeds the degree of force authorized to be used by a police officer under an enactment of Canada or Manitoba or the common law; or
(b) violates
(i) a provision of the Criminal Code (Canada), or
(ii) a prescribed provision of another enactment of Canada or Manitoba.
Regulations
25.1(5) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing one or more provisions of an enactment of Canada or Manitoba for the purpose of subclause (4)(b)(ii).
Offence and penalties
25.2 A police officer who contravenes section 25.1 is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than $50,000, or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or both.
Employment consequences
25.3 A police service must not employ a person as a police officer if the person has been convicted of an offence under section 25.2 during the 12-month period immediately after the date of conviction.
Coming into force
3 This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.
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Explanatory Note The Police Services Act is amended to require a police officer to intervene if they see another officer committing a wrongdoing. The officer must also report the wrongdoing to their police chief. A police service must not employ a person who has been convicted for failing to comply with these requirements as a police officer for a period of 12 months after the conviction. |