Defunding the Police: Defining the Way Forward for HRM - January 17, 2022 Board of Police Commissioners | Halifax.ca

The antecedents to and the history of the movement to “defund the police” in the HRM. [...] civilian governance on behalf of the council in relation to the enforcement of law, the maintenance of law and order and the prevention of crime in the municipality; and b. [...] The authority of the individual constable to investigate crime, to arrest suspects and lay information before the justice of the peace comes from the common law, Criminal Code and other statutory authority and must not be interfered with by any political or administrative body.42 By contrast, the actual day-to-day direction of the police department with respect to the enforcement of law and the ma. [...] For example, in considering the workings of the Toronto Police Services Board in his 2012 report, Independent Civilian Review Into Matters Relating to the G20 Summit, the Honourable John Morden, a retired Justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal, noted that Ontario’s Police Services Act similarly restricts the Board from directing the chief of police with respect to the day-to-day operation of the p. [...] To the extent that the movement to defund the police represents a call to reimagine public safety, this movement is in keeping with one of the core purposes of the municipality—namely, to “develop and maintain safe and viable communities.” 73 In 2008, the HRM made a commitment to developing a more holistic understanding of, and a coordinated approach to addressing, the root causes of crime and vic.