Current officers, lawyers could be blocked from joining police board in Mississauga and Brampton

New rules could see Peel Regional Police officers, criminal lawyers and people who work for law enforcement agencies banned from joining the force’s civilian governing body.

The seven-member Peel Police Service Board oversees the “effective police services, law enforcement and crime prevention” in Mississauga and Brampton, and a new proposal could see new limits on who can join the board and its committees.

Proposed changes to the board’s eligibility requirements could see former Peel Regional Police officers barred from the board along with anyone who “practises criminal law as a defence counsel or as a prosecutor,” members of any police service, a special constable or a First Nation Officer.

Former police service members may only be eligible if at least one year has passed since last working as a member of any police service.

The new restrictions will go to the Regional Council’s Policies and Procedures Committee for review on Thursday.

Both Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown sit on the board, as does Brampton resident Len Carby who was added to the board last year following calls for a representative from the Black community.

Parrish and lifelong Peel resident and businessman Omar Khan were named to the board in July as the newest members of the board.

While the board doesn’t direct the service or the chief on day-to-day work of police or specific operational decisions, its mandate includes forming policies “for the effective management of the police service,” recruitment of chiefs and deputies, and approval of the capital budget.

Earlier this year the board sent a letter to the federal minister of justice and attorney general emphasizing “the urgent need for systemic changes amidst rising incidents of auto thefts and other serious crimes in Peel and across Canada.”

The next Peel Police Service Board meeting is on Sept. 27.