Volume 1, Issue 2 (August 2026)

We've seen skyrocketing costs for policing in Ottawa with little to no oversight. We've witnessed cops abuse protesters' rights with little accountability. We've watched Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB shield itself from the public. We've started COPOUT 613!

COPOUT 613 (Community Oversight of Police Operations to Uphold Transparency) is an Ottawa-based collective dedicated to monitoring and conducting research into policing in Ottawa, focusing on the lack of transparency and accountability from the Ottawa Police Service (OPS), Ottawa Police Service Board (OPSB), and various provincial "oversight" bodies.

In this issue:

1. Oversight* highlights

   Our monthly review of Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB's "oversight" of Ottawa Police ServiceOPS

2. In focus

   Special constables

3. Bad apples or rotten barrel... You be the judge!

   Our monthly round-up of cops in the news

4. Announcements

   1. Upcoming OPSB meetings

   2. Other announcements

5. This and that

   1. Dystopia watch

   2. What we're reading

   3. Did you know?

   4. Dog and pony show

      Our monthly antidote to cops being cops!

The noun "oversight" has two very different meanings. Which does Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB do?

1. "watchful and responsible care"
2. "an inadvertent omission or error"

Last month's meetings

July 14: Human Resources Committee

The Workforce Management Report for Q1 2026 was presented. Ottawa Police ServiceOPS hired 36 new members in the first quarter of 2026.

In answer to a question from Vice-Chair Carr, Deputy Chief Bell replied that there are 17 temporary special constables funded out of a provincial agreement. If this agreement is not renewed, Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB will have to find funding out of the Ottawa budget. (See the In focus segment below for more on special constables.)

In response to a question about overtime, Chief Stubbs said that protests and events are hard to manage but you can be strategic. He said “for argument's sake, do we send 30 officers for that demo or can we do it with 15?” That's a very good question! Protests are consistently over-policed, so why not reduce the number of officers and save on overtime? Maybe Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB should be asking that question.

Deputy Chief Bell also stated that the overtime budget has not been increased to match what they're spending. This means that at some point they'll increase the overtime budget. Why bother preparing a budget if you're just going to increase it whenever you overspend?

July 27: Meeting of the full board

COPOUT 613 submitted a written delegation to this meeting, which you can read on our website.

While the usual Board members were present at this online meeting, there was also someone on-screen who is not a Board member and who was never introduced. It seems that for the Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB members, since they knew who this person was, there was no need to inform the public about why he was there.

The Use of Force Community Review Panel is now operational

The report lists the names of the members but provides no other information about them. COPOUT 613 has attempted to reach a presumed member of this panel for more information but has so far not received confirmation of his membership nor any answers to our questions about the panel.

According to the report, the panel has completed training, but no information on what kind of training this was or who provided it is included in the report. Is it Ottawa Police ServiceOPS who are training the people who are supposed to be reviewing their conduct?

Duplicate translation services?

Ottawa Police ServiceOPS has implemented a multi-language service called Languages in Motion. No information on cost was provided. When pitching body-worn cameras (BWCs), one of the selling features that Ottawa Police ServiceOPS highlighted was the built-in translation capability of the Axon cameras they piloted. Is this Languages in Motion service duplicating the translation capabilities on the body-worn camerasBWCs? Will Ottawa Police ServiceOPS phase out this service as cameras are deployed? The report doesn't answer any of these questions, and no one on Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB asked.

Many numbers, no analysis

Vice-Chair Carr asked some questions about seemingly contradictory numbers in various reports. She said that "sometimes we just have too many reports and then the analysis is kind of missing." She was not satisfied with the answers from Ottawa Police ServiceOPS and said she would take the discussion offline. This exchange makes us wonder how much of Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB's work is done "offline" and therefore out of public view. Furthermore, if Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB were truly providing oversight, shouldn't they be analyzing Ottawa Police ServiceOPS reports themselves, rather than relying on the people they're supposed to be overseeing to analyze their own reports?

Complaints report was presented

Ottawa Police ServiceOPS reported on complaints received, comparing the second quarter of 2026 to the second quarter of 2025. Some highlights:

• The number of complaints made against Ottawa Police ServiceOPS by a member of the public increased by 12% (101 vs. 90).
• "Interactions with the public" complaints increased from 53 to 75. (Most complaints by members of the public are classified as “Interactions with the public” as opposed to more specific categories like “Human Rights and Charter Rights” or “Driving related”.)
• The provincial government's Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA) screens out most complaints (68%).

Vice-Chair Carr asked what happens to complaints screened out by Law Enforcement Complaints AgencyLECA. She said that even though the complaint is screened out it still reflects the experience of the public with Ottawa Police ServiceOPS. Ottawa Police ServiceOPS says they keep track of screened out complaints and review them to see if there is a pattern of behaviour. If this is accurate, it reinforces the importance of continuing to use the flawed complaints process. Maybe if enough complaints are launched something will happen!

Inquiry into confidentiality agreements

Vice-Chair Carr also received answers to an inquiry she had made about confidentiality and non-disparagement agreements that Ottawa Police ServiceOPS has entered into with members, former members, and members of the public in the last three years.

Ottawa Police ServiceOPS stated that all but one of the 37 agreements signed with members who left the force (separation agreements) included a standard confidentiality clause. Three of these agreements had non-disparagement clauses. A disproportionate number of these agreements (43.2%) were with female members.

Only three agreements with members of the public included confidentiality clauses.

Carr also asked if there are procedures if a complainant discloses that they have such an agreement when reporting a crime to Ottawa Police ServiceOPS. There are no such procedures.

Carr did not get all the answers she was looking for and said she would follow up with an e-mail. Again, the public does not get to hear the answers to the questions.

We wonder what prompted Carr's interest in these agreements? Is there a connection to the many sexual misconduct allegations discussed at the last Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB meeting?

August 7: Finance and Audit Committee

COPOUT 613 submitted a written delegation to this meeting, which you can read on our website.

Financial Status Update (second quarter)

Ottawa Police ServiceOPS are required by the Board's CR-2 Financial Planning and Operations Policy to provide quarterly updates on their financial status to the Board. The update dashboard shows a red symbol for this status. "Ottawa Police ServiceOPS is forecasting in the mid-range of a $20M to $25M negative year end financial position." Furthermore, the text designates Ottawa Police ServiceOPS' financial position as "requires attention (high risk)." In its 2026 budget, Ottawa Police ServiceOPS received one of the highest operating budget increases in decades, at $31.5 million. This potential $25 million deficit would put the additional spending increase for 2026 at $56.5 million.

Non-recoverable overtime seems to be the main culprit and is portrayed this way: "Ottawa Police ServiceOPS’s non-recoverable overtime has increased from $5M in 2021 to $21.5M in 2025, mainly due to operational policing requirements to ensure adequate and effective policing per the [Community Safety and Policing Act]." The Community Safety and Policing ActCSPA defines "adequate and effective policing" in section 11(1). This term is extremely broad and includes the catch-all "[a]ny other prescribed policing functions," so it's not clear what specific "operational policing requirements" in connection with the Community Safety and Policing ActCSPA are leading to increased overtime.

Motion update: Professional Development Centre

Ottawa Police ServiceOPS provided an update on their request to build a new Professional Development Centre (PDC). Ottawa Police ServiceOPS provided an initial report to the Board on April 27, 2026. While the document does not provide a figure, Ottawa Police ServiceOPS did come to the Board earlier this year with a $233 million estimate for the new dedicated Professional Development CentrePDC. They're now exploring five options. Ottawa Police ServiceOPS will provide their next progress update report to the to the Finance and Audit Committee on October 9, 2026. The update will include a full options analysis, recommendations for consideration in moving forward with a Professional Development CentrePDC facility solution, and an associated business case for the preferred solution.

The timing is curious: this project will be presented for approval one week before the municipal elections. We also note that one of the options is calling for a Public Private Partnership (P3). How have those worked out for the public? We need only look at the Ottawa light rail transitLRT fiasco to see how poorly P3s work for the public. Given Ottawa Police ServiceOPS' and Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB's track record on project management (e.g., the ballooning budget of the South Facility on Prince of Wales), we can expect this $233 million project to come to well over $500 million in the end!

In addition to the approximately 1,600 police officers employed by Ottawa Police ServiceOPS, there are also special constables, who are not officially police officers, but who are appointed by Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB. Some special constables are employees of OPS and perform tasks such as courthouse security and evidence management. Others do security work at Carleton University.

In this issue, however, we will focus on the 48 special constables employed by OC Transpo, who are increasingly being granted policing powers. As of May 2026, there were also an additional 16 vacant positions authorized, for a total of 64, and plans to hire three more to reach 105% capacity.

What is a special constable?

Special constables are sworn peace officers appointed by Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB. Their powers are restricted to specific roles, such as transit security, frontline police support, and institutional security. They have the authority to:

• investigate incidents
• charge people under the Criminal Code and provincial or municipal laws
• investigate, arrest, and lay charges under the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) for illicit drug possession (as of early 2026)

The requirements to be appointed as a special constable are:

• Completion of a community college Police Foundations or Law and Security Certificate
• Minimum of 2 years of security experience in a transit environment
• Related experience in dealing with people and enforcement procedures

Recent changes

On July 1, 2026, the provincial Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act (RPCISA), which extended police powers to special constables on public transit properties, came into force. The change gives special constables new powers to arrest or issue fines of up to $10,000 to people who are using or suspected of using drugs on transit properties. Before the legislation came into effect, OC Transpo special constables already had the authority to investigate incidents and criminally charge people for illicit drug possession under the Controlled Drugs and Substances ActCSDA. They could also enforce some provincial laws such as trespassing and alcohol consumption, but lacked direct jurisdiction over illegal drug use on transit properties.

With these new powers, special constables can now issue tickets, order a person suspected of public drug use to leave a place, seize illegal substances for analysis, and arrest people — without a warrant — for public drug use. Individuals can now be fined up to $10,000 or sentenced to up to six months in jail for failing to comply with a special constable's order.

This legislation raises serious concerns of potential constitutional and Charter violations. It specifically targets unhoused individuals with addictions and mental health challenges, authorizes special constables to arrest people who are simply suspected of using drugs, and gives people who use drugs one less safe place to shelter, increasing their risk of harm.

The "compassionate approach"

On February 25, 2026, Rideau-Vanier Ward Councillor Stephanie Plante, seconded by Mayor Sutcliffe, brought a motion directly to City Council to support the provincial government's agenda to extend police powers to special constables on transit properties. Plante bypassed committee meetings such as the Transit Committee and Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB on the grounds that the provincial government had requested that public input be provided by March 1. This short timeframe denied Ottawa residents the democratic right to voice their concerns in a public forum. In addition, Plante and Sutcliffe coordinated to seek the support of senior city staff, as well as Chief Stubbs without the knowledge of other councillors.

Plante described the extension of police powers to special constables as a “compassionate approach” that would keep transit riders safer. According to Plante, because the new powers would allow special constables to issue fines of up to $10,000 to people using or suspected of using drugs on transit properties, if someone were fined and failed to pay, they could then be forced into a hearing in Superior Court. Presumably, the process would force people with outstanding fines into a Drug Treatment Court, which would have the authority to order them into treatment instead of jailing or fining them.

While mandatory treatment may sound like a compassionate alternative to prison, the reality is that it sets the individual up for greater failure. To qualify, the person must be willing to plead guilty and have no previous convictions. Considering that an individual can be arrested based on a constable's "reasonable belief" that they possessed drugs or committed a crime related to drugs, they may choose to plead guilty, whether or not they committed the offence, to avoid going through a lengthy trial and facing potential prison time.

Secondly, most credible, evidence-based research suggests that forced treatment is not more effective than voluntary treatment and may carry higher risks of fatal overdoses or even death upon release. Forcing abstinence lowers a person's drug tolerance. If that person then relapses after being discharged, their lowered tolerance makes them significantly more likely to suffer fatal poisoning.

In 2023, the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine reviewed worldwide research into the effectiveness of involuntary treatment. The task force looked at 42 studies from around the globe; of the 22 studies that compared involuntary to voluntary treatments, 10 reported negative outcomes from involuntary treatments, five found no significant differences, and seven found improvements during the time of retention in treatment. Only one of those seven found a post-treatment reduction in substance use, and that was not sustained long-term.

It's difficult to understand how an approach that issues fines to our most vulnerable residents, forces them into costly court hearings, and sets them up for treatment that is overwhelmingly likely to fail, rather than provide housing and the support services they need to focus on recovery, is compassionate.

Costs to taxpayers

The expansion of special constables' policing powers raises questions about how more policing is being incorporated into our daily lives outside the official police budget. Although transit constables are appointed by Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB, they are employed by OC Transpo, and their salaries, benefits, and other costs of employment are not included in the Ottawa Police ServiceOPS budget.

OC Transpo currently employs 48 special constables on its properties, but also says it has 16 vacant positions. According to Glass Door, a special constable in transit can expect to earn $71,776 per year or $35 per hour. This translates to an overall cost of at least $3.4 million for the 48 current special constables, but would come to $4.6 million if all 64 positions were staffed. These figures do not include any benefits or other costs associated with these positions.

Ottawa residents should question if this is the best value for our tax dollars. When the Ontario government extended policing powers to transit constables, it did so at a time when OC Transpo reported 250 drug use offences in 2024 at the October 27, 2025 OPSB meeting — about 0.7 per day across the entire transit system. This was a decrease of 39 percent from 2023. Only 10 percent of those offences led to charges. Do we really need special constables with new powers targeting unhoused people with addictions at a time when rates of suspected drug use on transit properties have been significantly dropping and numbers are relatively low?

Alternatives

We know from experience and best practices in Ottawa that people with complex addictions respond better to community support, rather than interactions with law enforcement, which are authoritarian and confrontational. Instead of policing and punishment, OC Transpo should take advantage of the community resources available in Ottawa and establish partnerships with them, including harm reduction programs, outreach services such as the Block Leaders program in the Byward Market, mental health teams, specialized paramedic teams, and the Alternate Neighbourhood Crisis ResponseANCHOR program for non-violent mental health and crisis calls. These programs have been praised by both businesses and residents for interacting positively with people with addictions and connecting them with community resources and follow-up care.

A truly compassionate approach means investing in trauma-informed and evidence-based solutions, including expanded harm-reduction services, housing, and crisis-response supports. It must prioritize health, dignity, and access to community resources over law enforcement and punishment. It should also take direction from those who have lived experience of addiction and life on the street, who know better than others what will work effectively to connect with people who are currently living in those situations. For example, the Block Leaders Program in the Byward Market hires people who have lived on the streets and battled addictions. Because of this experience, they are better able to engage with someone who is going through the same thing, and they get better outcomes than police and security when resolving issues and connecting people to resources in the community. When designing and planning the city's response to addiction and drug use in public spaces, they're the ones whose perspectives should be given the greatest weight, as opposed to businesses and tourism officials deciding what they need (usually more police).

What lies ahead

As we can see from the changes to the powers special constables on public transit, law enforcement is creeping heavily into our community in ways that aren't being captured through reviews of the Ottawa Police ServiceOPS budget. Special constables are being given increased police powers that abuse the Charter rights of the most vulnerable.

Giving increased policing powers to special constables ignores the greater issues that have led to more public consumption of drugs. Failed government policies such as shutting down safe consumption sites, criminalizing encampments, and weakening tenants’ rights and rent controls have left those with complex addictions out on the street without resources. The province's abstinence models such as Homelessness, Addictions, Recovery, and Treatment (HART) Hubs do not address the needs of people with severe addictions, nor do they address the opioid crisis, which was responsible for 668 suspect drug-related deaths across Ontario between April and June 2026.

We cannot expect to police our way out of a drug epidemic by punishing the most vulnerable people in our society. Instead of the expansion of police powers to push people who use drugs out of public sight, we need to follow the evidence-based practices by giving them the tools they need to recover, such as housing, support services, and genuine compassion.

Bad apples or rotten barrel?

You be the judge!

This is a recurring segment that acts as a round-up of police misdeeds, by everyone from chiefs of police to everyday cops on the beat, covering Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and the rest of the world.

Whenever police misconduct comes to light, we hear that the cops responsible are just "a few bad apples." No one ever seems to remember the full saying: "A few bad apples spoil the whole barrel." If you keep finding bad apples in your barrel, maybe you should throw it out!

Ottawa

July 2026

Sexual misconduct continues at Ottawa Police ServiceOPS — Since our last issue, more allegations have surfaced. Ottawa Police ServiceOPS officers continue to be accused of sexual misconduct while on duty and during training. Two OPS officers left the force before allegations of sexual misconduct against them could be fully investigated: one retired, the other resigned. The retired officer may resolve his criminal charges after completing a treatment plan. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) announced that they were "not recommending criminal charges against Ottawa Police Association president Matthew Cox" after their review of sexual assault allegations against him. The Special Investigations UnitSIU said that they would not be releasing a report on the review due to "a risk of further deterring what is an under-reported crime."

SIU clears Ottawa police officer after man's skull fractured during arrest — Continuing the theme of the Special Investigations UnitSIU not finding any wrongdoing, when a man suffered skull and nasal fractures and brain bleeding due to an arrest by an Ottawa Police ServiceOPS officer, the Special Investigations UnitSIU was unable to determine whether the officer had tackled the man, and, if so, whether that was "uncalled for in the circumstances."

Have Ottawa police lost control of the officers under their command? — Opinion piece in Ottawa Citizen on the disproportionate use of force by Ottawa Police ServiceOPS against Black and Middle Eastern residents.

Ontario

July 2026

OPP officer charged with assault after incident during January traffic stop — Ontario Provincial Police officer Kevin Noh was charged with assault and assault with a weapon after allegedly using a conducted energy weapon during a traffic stop in Toronto on January 2.

No criminal charges to be laid in alleged Oshawa courthouse assault of lawyer, investigation finds —  After an encounter with Durham Regional Police Service officers at the Oshawa courthouse in January, criminal defence lawyer Sudine Riley, who is Black, alleged that she had been assaulted by the officers and shared photos of her bloodied face. York Regional Police were brought in to conduct an "independent" investigation and decided not to proceed with any criminal charges against the officers.

Gun evidence tossed after police car seen on video slamming into scooter riders in Canadian Tire takedown — On June 25, 2024, Toronto Police Service officer Joshua Baksh was caught on video driving an unmarked police car into two men riding a scooter in Whitby. One of the men was "hit again by a second police car and crushed between them," resulting in "spinal and rib fractures," according to his lawyer. The man was arrested as paramedics were loading him into an ambulance, but last month a judge excluded evidence related to a gun recovered at the scene, leading to the Crown dropping all charges against him, aside from a bail violation. Officer Baksh pleaded guilty to assault, but "continues to work at Toronto Police ServiceTPS in a non-public facing role."

Toronto woman who police called ‘female belligerent’ fights her traffic tickets—and wins — Toronto Police Service officer Upinder Singh wrongly accused a Black woman of failing to stop at a stop sign and falsely claimed that she had failed to provide insurance. When she told the officer that she had in fact stopped, he described her as a "belligerent female" in his notes, as she discovered through a freedom of information request. Video evidence from the police car and body camera helped her get the tickets withdrawn, after getting the runaround from the courts and "accountability" agencies.

Canada

August 2026

Montreal police take down high-powered surveillance camera after Radio-Canada story — Radio-Canada spotted an automated licence-plate reader (ALPR) camera in Montreal and asked the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM; City of Montreal Police Service) whether it belonged to them. SPVM chief Fady Dagher told them he had no knowledge of it, but the camera was removed a few hours after the Radio-Canada story was published, and chief Dagher later admitted that it belonged to the Service de police de la Ville de MontréalSPVM. automated licence-plate readerALPR cameras produced by American company Flock have been the target of increasing anger across the United States in recent months due to concerns about mass surveillance.

RCMP officers ‘intentionally’ set home ablaze during tense standoff, court documents reveal — In May 2023, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers sent to conduct a wellness check on Daniel Hackl in Chilliwack, British Columbia, intentionally set his house on fire after he fired several shots at the officers and refused to surrender. The Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRCMP's goal, according to the judge hearing the attempted murder case against the man, was "to remove Mr. Hackl from the residence for arrest, have a lethal confrontation with Mr. Hackl, or have Mr. Hackl perish in the fire.”

Quebec cops killed a teenage boy. Now they’re targeting his friends — After Longueuil police shot and killed Nooran Rezayi, an unarmed teenage boy, in September 2025, the Service de police de la Ville de MontréalSPVM were brought in to conduct an investigation — only it seems they've been investigating not the police who killed him, but his friends who saw him killed. They conducted mass raids on the homes of eleven teenage boys associated with Rezayi, while no charges have been laid against the officer who killed him.

Edmonton Police Commission doesn't want to talk about Israel — Edmonton Police Service chief Warren Driechel travelled to Israel and to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank in February, with the unilateral approval of Edmonton Police Commission (EPC) chair Ben Henderson. After this trip came to light in June, Edmonton residents who went to the July Edmonton Police CommissionEPC meeting to express their outrage were barred by the Edmonton Police CommissionEPC vice-chair from discussing the topic and threatened with being physically removed from the room when their comments strayed into the forbidden zone.

International

August 2026

Scottish police officer was rapist who attacked women over 14 years — Police Scotland officer Alan Greer was discovered to have been a serial rapist who had severely assaulted several women for over 14 years while serving as a police officer.

July 2026

‘Give us his body to bury’: a mother’s six-year fight for justice for son killed in Nigeria’s anti-police protests — In 2020, as mass protests against police brutality known as the #EndSars protests spread across Nigeria, 20-year-old Pelumi Onifade was shot and dragged into a police van while covering the protests for a TV station, according to witnesses. Six years later, his family still haven't received his body or been told what happened to him.

Undercover Policing Inquiry reveals BAE Systems offered money to Special Branch to spy on anti arms trade campaigner — In the United Kingdom, the Metropolitan Police's Special Demonstration Squad spent decades infiltrating various leftist and environmentalist groups using undercover officers, who in some cases conducted years-long romantic relationships with member of the groups and even fathered children with them under their false identities. The Undercover Policing Inquiry that was established to examine the surveillance operation (after it became public) heard testimony in July from former Met officer Michael Dell that arms manufacturer BAE Systems "offered the Metropolitan police money to spy on" activists opposed to the arms trade in 1996. Dell claimed that the Met turned down the offer.

Upcoming OPSB meetings

• August, 28 2026, 10:00 am: Special Human Resources Committee (Zoom)
• September 25, 2026, 10:00 am: Policy and Governance Committee meeting (Zoom)
• September, 28 2026, 1:00 pm: In camera meeting (online)
• September, 28 2026, 4:00 pm: Regular meeting (hybrid)

Other announcements

• August 23, 2026, 11:00 am - 5:00 pm: Ottawa Vinyl and Book Fair (SAW + Arts Court, 67 Nicholas Street) - Proceeds going to Book Clubs for Inmates
• September 1, 2026, 4:00 pm: Ottawa City Council, Community Safety and Well-Being Advisory Committee meeting (hybrid)

Dystopia watch

If you've been waiting for the day when cops will be able to use a drone to drop a stun grenade on a crowd of protesters, you may not have to wait much longer! In June, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) published a "draft" version of their drone manual, stating that drones could be "equipped with weapons with written approval from the Superintendent of Police." (One of New Orleans Police DepartmentNOPD's drone suppliers, Skydio, also provides drones to the Israeli military.) Once activists and city councillors started asking questions, the earlier language prohibiting armed drones was restored, but fear not! New Orleans Police DepartmentNOPD will undoubtedly try their luck again when the time is right.

What we're reading

Canadian Policing: Why and How It Must Change, by Kent Roach (Delve Books, 2022)

This book was written in the wake of public police failures like the response to the February 2022 blockades and occupations (i.e., “Freedom Convoy”). Kent Roach is a professor of Law at the University of Toronto. He has participated in several inquiries on topics such as the bombing of Air India 182, the killing of Dudley George by the Ontario Provincial Police and the deportation of Maher Arar. He does research on miscarriages of justice.

The book traces the history of policing in Canada from its colonial roots. The book does a good job of outlining the myriad problems with policing and the “policing accountability industry,” as Roach frames it, which includes the myriad legalistic agencies such as the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA) and the Inspectorate of Policing (IoP) that give the appearance of oversight. These agencies, at best, deal with problems after the fact. They provide much work to lawyers and former cops but little change in how police conduct themselves. (See the Governance of policing in Ontario page on our website for more information.)

Those who believe in abolition will find that this book places too much emphasis on reform. It is still worth reading for the detailed history of policing and police governance.

Roach asserts (rightly) that the ever increasing cost of policing is not sustainable. He thinks that this provides room for people with various political perspectives to work together to improve policing and make it more accountable.

Did you know?

Dog and pony show

When pitching the Ottawa Police ServiceOPS mounted unit in November 2024, Chief Stubbs claimed that "[o]ne horse can equate to 10 to 12 officers." In light of this equivalence, we at COPOUT 613 assume that Ottawa Police Service BoardOPSB will be replacing the 1,600 OPS officers with 134-160 horses.

This recurring segment will explore other non-human animals that could replace cops.

Over the last few months, Florida police have been on a PR tour (with the obliging help of seemingly every media outlet in the state) promoting their new search and rescue otter. We at COPOUT 613 hope that the otters will resist being enrolled in the police state and avoid the fate of their canine and equine brethren.

As an antidote, we'd like to share this video of Joey the baby rescue otter in the care of the BC Marine Mammal Rescue Society.