POLICE OFFICER’S BILL OF
RIGHTS
Police officers and members of police services play an important role in ensuring that the fundamental values we embrace as a nation are not compromised, by respecting the rights of their fellow citizens. In order to promote such high standards in policing, it is paramount that police personnel are treated with the same dignity and respect for their human rights as is expected of them in dealing with others. The Canadian Police Association advocates that local, provincial and federal governments adopt and adhere to the following Bill of Rights for members of police services:
□ The right to form and participate in a labour association.
o The right to bargain collectively.
o The right to access binding third party arbitration.
o The right to be represented publicly by this association without fear of discipline.
□ The fundamental principles guaranteed to all Canadian Citizens under the Charter should be afforded to all police officers in relation to their duties as public officials:
o The right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, including the right to retain office without loss of pay, seniority, compensation, benefits or status until proven guilty in a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction and the conclusion of all legal appeals and processes.
o The right to be protected from unlawful search and seizure, including the protection of personal information such as photographs and DNA.
o The right to a disciplinary framework that fully complies with the rules of procedural fairness and natural justice.
o The right to retain employment, with no loss of seniority, compensation, benefits or status, when the method of policing the community changes as a result of restructuring, amalgamation or contract policing.
□ The right to retire with dignity on an unreduced pension after 25 years of service.
□ The right to privacy.
o The right to a private life as a private citizen.
o The right to privacy and protection of personal information, including personnel and employment records. Police officers should be afforded protection from the misuse of personal information or misinformation on web sites.
□ The right to be protected by the employer from bodily harm arising from their duties, including:
o The right to a healthy and safe workplace, including the right to be provided protective equipment for known and identifiable risks.
o The right to refuse unsafe work unless such work arises from an emergency situation where the lives of innocent persons are at risk and the risks cannot be mitigated.
o The right to be protected from communicable disease.
o The right to be provided proper training and supervision to carry out required duties.
□ The right to be afforded reasonable protection from harm, including mandatory minimum sentences for those who commit infractions against members of police services. [e.g. assaults, false accusations]
□
The right to be politically
active and engage, without reprisal, in
□ The right to be properly and fully accommodated in the workplace consistent with the fundamental principles of contemporary Human Rights legislation; including the right to retain office without loss of seniority, compensation, benefits or status.