Indigenous people are overrepresented in police watchdog cases: B.C. report

The head of British Columbia’s police watchdog says Indigenous people are overrepresented in its investigations of officers conducted where a person is seriously injured or killed.

In her first report as chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office, Jessica Berglund says about six per cent of B.C.’s population identify as Indigenous, yet 18 per cent of those involved in IIO investigations were Indigenous.

Berglund says overrepresentation has been the case since the office started tracking the data five years ago.

The report says Indigenous Peoples represented almost 29 per cent of affected persons involved in firearm files.

Berglund says her office is working to improve accessibility and responsiveness and exploring new ways to make it more approachable to Indigenous communities.

The independent office was created following recommendations from multiple commissions, including one into the 1998 death of Frank Paul, an Indigenous man who died of hypothermia in an alleyway after being left there by police.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press