At the same time as their associations channel public resources into private political lobbying, they claim immunity from BC’s laws governing public access to their records.

They’re the two most prominent and influential policing organizations in British Columbia, appearing frequently in public promoting their strong positions on criminal justice reform, use of tasers, drug laws, or expanding police powers. But little else is widely known about the BC Association of Chiefs of Police (BCACP) and its smaller sister, the BC Association of Municipal Chiefs of Police (BCAMCP).

I became more aware of these associations in July, after the BC Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner launched an investigation into the Victoria Police Department’s use of automatic licence plate recognition in the wake of Focus’ investigations (see “Hidden Surveillance” Feb 2012). Extensive media coverage ensued, and the BC Ministry of Justice issued a statement in which they assured the public that they “recently wrote a letter to the BC Association of Chiefs of Police” to re-emphasize the program’s proper “terms of use.” I’d been investigating the RCMP and VicPD’s licence plate tracking system for 18 months, and had never come across this group—and now suddenly I learn that they are the ones actually in charge of it? Read more at Focus online.

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