Prabhu Rajan speaks in Pembroke, Ont., on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. British Columbia's Police Complaint Commissioner says his office has launched its first systemic investigation into how B.C. municipal police departments handle workplace sexual misconduct cases. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

By The Canadian Press

Complaint commissioner announces ‘systemic’ probe into B.C. police sexual misconduct

Mar 25, 2026 | 12:05 PM

VICTORIA — B.C.’s police complaint commissioner says his office has began a “systemic investigation” into how municipal police departments handle cases of sexual misconduct involving officers.

Prabhu Rajan says sexual misconduct in police workplaces undermines “operational effectiveness” and the investigation will examine how municipal departments handle cases involving their own.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner says in a statement that it’s the first systemic investigation initiated since an amendment to the Police Act in 2024 enabled the agency to do so.

The statement says systemic investigations allow the agency to “examine broader patterns, risks, and practices in policing,” rather than individual incidents of police misconduct.

Rajan says sexualized conduct by officers has been a “recurring issue” in investigations and some instances “raise serious concerns regarding predatory behaviours by officers in supervisory roles or positions of authority.”

The commissioner’s office says it expects to release its investigation report in April 2027.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2026

The Canadian Press