NCJ Number
96571
Date Published
1983
Length
108 pages
Annotation
This text reviews literature on police abuses and analyzes 182 complaints of police abuse in Toronto.
Abstract
Remedies available to the Toronto citizen who has been abused by the police are addressed (complaining to the police and pressing civil or criminal charges), and the inefficacy of such measures prior to the formation of the Public Complaints Commission and the appointment of Sidney Lideny as commissioner is examined. Consideration is given to the 609 cases examined by Linden in 1982; 290 of these alleged some form of assault by a police officer, but none were substantiated. Fourteen percent of nonassault claims were substantiated, and in 3.3 percent of the cases, officers were counseled and/or cautioned; none were dismissed. The establishment of the Citizens' Independent Review of Police Activities (CIRPA) is described, and 182 cases from the organization's files are analyzed. Measures used, including gender, date and time of incident, and charges laid against complainant, are described. Additionally, the same data are analyzed using two variables at once and by cross-tabulating major variables previously examined and adding variations. Results reveal that homosexuals suffer police abuse out of proportion to their numbers, and that most abuse takes place outside such police-controlled areas as police cars and interrogation rooms. Further, time of day is found to be related to the number of incidents alleged and to their severity. Further research focusing on ethnicity and age of complainants is urged. Included are 33 references and 23 tables.