Primary Country (Mandatory)

United States

Other Country (Optional)

Set News Language for United States

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language[s] (Optional)
No other language available

Set News Language for World

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language(s) (Optional)

Set News Source for United States

Primary Source (Mandatory)
CNN
Other Source[s] (Optional)

Set News Source for World

Primary Source (Mandatory)
AajTak
Other Source(s) (Optional)
  • Countries
    • India
    • United States
    • Qatar
    • Germany
    • China
    • Canada
    • World
  • Categories
    • National
    • International
    • Business
    • Entertainment
    • Sports
    • Special
    • All Categories
  • Available Languages for United States
    • English
  • All Languages
    • English
    • Hindi
    • Arabic
    • German
    • Chinese
    • French
  • Sources
    • India
      • AajTak
      • NDTV India
      • The Hindu
      • India Today
      • Zee News
      • NDTV
      • BBC
      • The Wire
      • News18
      • News 24
      • The Quint
      • ABP News
      • Zee News
      • News 24
    • United States
      • CNN
      • Fox News
      • Al Jazeera
      • CBSN
      • NY Post
      • Voice of America
      • The New York Times
      • HuffPost
      • ABC News
      • Newsy
    • Qatar
      • Al Jazeera
      • Al Arab
      • The Peninsula
      • Gulf Times
      • Al Sharq
      • Qatar Tribune
      • Al Raya
      • Lusail
    • Germany
      • DW
      • ZDF
      • ProSieben
      • RTL
      • n-tv
      • Die Welt
      • Süddeutsche Zeitung
      • Frankfurter Rundschau
    • China
      • China Daily
      • BBC
      • The New York Times
      • Voice of America
      • Beijing Daily
      • The Epoch Times
      • Ta Kung Pao
      • Xinmin Evening News
    • Canada
      • CBC
      • Radio-Canada
      • CTV
      • TVA Nouvelles
      • Le Journal de Montréal
      • Global News
      • BNN Bloomberg
      • Métro
MoreBack to News Headlines
Calls for transparency over security-guard complaints in B.C.

Calls for transparency over security-guard complaints in B.C.

CBC
Tuesday, September 3, 2024 12:40 PM GMT

Accountability activists in British Columbia say more transparency is needed around how complaints against security guards — especially serious allegations such as use of force and racial discrimination — are handled.

They say it's of particular concern because a significant portion of complaints to the province's regulator result in no sanction against guards or security companies, according to data obtained through a freedom of information (FOI) request and verified by CBC News.

Within both the FOI-requested dataset and publicly available figures, there is little further insight about how many complaints have involved more serious allegations, prompting a call from activists for the province to make more of the data public.

"Right now, people can't even draw their own conclusions because [the data] doesn't exist out there," said Stephen Harrison, a Victoria-based blogger and police accountability activist who made the FOI request earlier this year.

There's also concern that very few people are aware of the public complaints process in B.C. at all, especially as the province does not publicly post a list of disciplinary outcomes by the Registrar of Security Services (RSS) — unlike other jurisdictions, including Ontario.

The calls for transparency come following high-profile cases of security guards using excessive force in B.C. in recent years, including one being convicted of manslaughter in April after putting a mentally ill man in a headlock, and another pleading guilty to assault after breaking a man's arm in 2016.

Harrison said he requested the security guard data after a friend told him they witnessed a security guard at a Victoria grocery store restraining someone by pushing their face into the sidewalk.

There are two pieces of legislation governing the security industry in B.C. — the Security Services Act and Security Services Regulation.

The act primarily governs the conduct of security companies, while the regulation covers individual security guards' conduct. The FOI data shows 67 per cent of the complaints made from 2021 to 2023 pertained to the regulation.

However, no further breakdown is available.

More than 100 complaints per year, on average, have been made to the RSS since 2007, according to the FOI data, covering a range of allegations from companies employing unlicensed workers to excessive use of force by guards.

But the FOI statistics requested by Harrison show that, within that time, around two-thirds of the complaints made against security guards and companies in B.C. resulted in "no sanction." 

Harrison says that signals there's a problem.

"The statistics are showing that your complaints are likely to be dismissed or result in no discipline," he said. "The question would be, is this process working? Is this serving the people, necessarily?"

Read full story on CBC
Share this story on:-
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running GamePlay Run 3, the ultimate space tunnel running game with 300+ challenging levels!Adv.
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing GameTraffic Jam 3D is a game where you’ll be driving through heavy traffic.Adv.
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic GamePlay the classic 1984 light gun shooter game Duck Hunt on your browser.Adv.
More Related News
A website claims wildfire destroyed a single mom's clothing warehouse. But the store doesn't exist

The city of Flin Flon in northwestern Manitoba has faced wildfires and a massive evacuation — and now a fake online site has popped up claiming a clothing warehouse in the city burned down, and the single-mom owner has to sell off what's left.

La Ronge evacuees to begin returning home Thursday

Some people forced from their homes by wildfires in northern Saskatchewan will soon start making their way home, as conditions improve in the La Ronge area.

Chiropractor says being able to order X-rays is paring redundancy from P.E.I. medical system

After a long wait, chiropractors practising on Prince Edward Island are now able to order X-rays to help them diagnose and treat patients.

New rules see province screening sex education resources before they hit classrooms

Alberta school leaders and groups that deliver school sex education presentations are preparing for new rules taking effect this fall that require the government to first vet all information.

This U.S. doctor is making the move to B.C. — here's why

For one Canadian-born doctor, who has been practicing family medicine in Colorado for the last six years, his next career move is a sort of homecoming.

Gen Z is facing the worst youth unemployment rate in decades. Here is how it's different

Graduation cap in hand, Sarah Chung is posing for photos in school regalia ahead of her convocation ceremony. The campus atmosphere is joyful, but what comes next is sobering: this honours student is graduating into one of the worst youth labour markets seen in decades.

Sandy Lake residents evacuated to Cornwall can't wait to go home

Coun. Allan Rae of the Sandy Lake First Nation is 1,600 kilometres from home and worried about his wife and two children.

Male shot by police after allegedly attacking woman in Markham: York police

A male was shot by police in Markham early Wednesday morning after officers responded to a welfare check call, York Regional Police say. 

Family has not given up hope that Indigenous woman who disappeared in Barrie will be found

Family members of an Indigenous woman who went missing in Barrie, Ont., two years ago say they have never given up hope of finding her.

Stratford townhouse proposal would be destructive to wetland, nearby residents warn

Some residents of Stratford are calling on the P.E.I. town's council to postpone a vote on a rezoning application, fearing it will destroy a wetland in their neighbourhood.

N.W.T. officials provide update on major infrastructure projects, and some rising costs

The Northwest Territories government says construction on two of its biggest infrastructure projects could start by 2028, and that one of those projects is now expected to cost more than $2 billion.

15 senators took a $118K trip to Alberta. Some colleagues question its relevance

The initiative was launched by Alberta Sen. Scott Tannas. In May 2024, he sent a message to his colleagues in the upper chamber inviting them on what he called a "familiarization tour" of his province.

High-tech housing project to share site with controversial First Nation grow op

A federal government agency is funding an experimental housing project on the site of a controversial, large-scale marijuana grow op in the Haudenosaunee community of Six Nations in southwest Ontario.  

Parking Slot | Free Parking GamePlay Parking Slot, the best online 3D car driving and parking game.Adv.
Slope Ball Run - Play OnlineSlope Game takes you on an exciting journey of a ball on special paths.Adv.
Toronto police identify boy, 15, fatally shot on weekend in Weston

Toronto police have identified a 15-year-old boy who died in hospital after he was shot in Weston neighbourhood on Saturday night.

Rob Lantz confirms he won't run for permanent leadership of P.E.I. Progressive Conservatives

Premier Rob Lantz says he won't seek the permanent leadership of P.E.I.'s Progressive Conservative Party, after previously saying people had been asking him to run for the position.

Alberta premier says province is looking to entice private-sector pipeline builder

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government is working to entice a private-sector player to build a crude oil pipeline to coastal waters.

Toronto woman accused of killing 3 people in 3 days fit to stand trial, judge rules

An Ontario judge has ruled that a Toronto woman accused of killing three people in three Ontario cities last year is now fit to stand trial. 

Ottawa and Washington exchange document outlining possible terms of deal: sources

In a sign that Canada and the U.S. are making progress toward some sort of trade agreement, CBC News and Radio-Canada have learned about the existence of a working document outlining details of a potential deal.

Charlottetown Farmers' Market warns local businesses of email scam targeting vendors

The Charlottetown Farmers' Market is warning local businesses that someone is impersonating the market's email account in an attempt to run a scam.

Smoke blankets Calgary area as air quality warning urges caution

The wildfire-induced smoke currently blanketing the Calgary area, is so bad Environment Canada is telling people to go back inside, in an air quality warning issued early Wednesday.

You'll soon need an access card to dump bulk waste in eastern Newfoundland

The old-fashioned clipboard and pen is slowly being replaced at the entrance to waste recovery facilities in eastern Newfoundland, as the board running the sites implements an access card system so it can collect better data on who's using the facilities, and what they're dropping off.

'They're really harmless': Tent caterpillar population explodes in northeastern Ontario

Sudbury and many other parts of northeastern Ontario are at the centre of an outbreak of tent caterpillars, as the insects' population has exploded.

How close are we to getting a vaccine for Lyme disease?

Diana Moser has, to the best of her knowledge, not contracted Lyme disease, a welcome status quo that might be credited to the tick-repellant clothing she wears in the yard of her East LaHave, N.S., home, or to the insect spray she squirts on herself, or to just plain-old luck.

Fredericton parents fighting $125 parking ticket at youth football practice

Jillian and Jody Shealy have spent the past two decades cheering their kids on from the sidelines of just about every sport that's offered in the city, taking them to rinks, fields and arenas across the greater Fredericton area.

Mother and 3-year-old son drown in home pool in Lachine, Montreal police say

A mother and her three-year-old are dead after drowning in a pool inside a residence in the city's Lachine borough.

© 2008 - 2025 Webjosh  |  News Archive  |  Privacy Policy  |  Contact Us