Re: “Let’s discuss regional policing, Bond says,” Feb. 27.

While we wait on some sign of progress on regional policing from the provincial government, the accountability of police boards also has to form part of this necessary overhaul.

In 1994, an inquiry on the state of policing in British Columbia suggested that mayors were in conflict of interest because they sat as political leaders of the municipality while at the same time the chair of the police board. In 2003, in another government report looking at the role and effectiveness of police boards, one issue stood out: the question as to whether the mayor should sit as the chair of the municipal board and is in a conflict of interest.

The report concluded in its recommendations that “the Police Act be amended such that the mayor be an ex officio, non-voting member of the municipal police board.”

To date, the provincial government has not made these changes to the Police Act.

Christina Mitchell

Salt Spring Island

© Copyright 2013