The Windsor Police Services Board (WPSB) has taken the next step towards addressing recommendations to improve policing.
An investigation was launched in May of 2018 after multiple complaints from members of Windsor Police Service (WPS) between January and April of that year.
It took two years to complete, but the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) found "no systemic issues related to the Windsor Police Service and the Windsor Police Service Board" in August.
However, the commission did issue 37 recommendations to strengthen board oversight, create more inclusive and diverse hiring and promotion practices and enhanced internal and external communications.
Windsor Mayor and Board Chair Drew Dilkens says board assigned responsibility for completing 30 of those recommendations to Windsor police Thursday.
"So that the chief and I as board chair can make sure that all of the work is getting done," he says. "The goal is to report back every month to the board in public sessions so that the public is aware of what we're doing and how we're coming along with implementing those recommendations."
Reviewing the conflict of interest policy is one of the seven items the board will be handling, according to Dilkens.
"We just did that in cooperation with representatives with the Ministry of the Solicitor General's Office and the OCPC came back and said they don't think it's strong enough," says Dilkens. "Although we worked with the policing representatives, we'll find a way to work with our legal council to draft something that will be a little tighter and hopefully satisfy the OCPC."
Dilkens says work on the majority of the issues identified in the report began while it was being created, so the public can expect to see policies implemented incrementally over the next year.