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A10: Participant code of conduct

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Policy #: A10
Responsible authority: CPC Executive Director
Approval authority: Academic Standards and Learning Development
Approval date: Spring 2016
Update: Summer 2024

Preamble

The Canadian Police College (CPC) is an academic institution committed to providing a rich learning experience to all its participants. In so doing, the College recognizes its responsibility to provide an appropriate learning environment for the institution.

The CPC supports the principle that all members of the CPC community must be free to study or work without undue interference. In pursuit of this goal, the CPC expects participants to conduct themselves in a manner which respects the rights of others and of the CPC.

All CPC Training Teams have the responsibility to keep necessary order and to respond to acts of participants' misconduct in their area and/or when they are a witness to such events.

The provisions below describe unacceptable conduct and behaviours. Engaging in these prohibited acts violates the standards of individual integrity, self-respect, respect for the rights and property of others, and the responsible behaviour which is expected at the CPC.

This directive shall apply to conduct that adversely affects the CPC community and/or pursuit of its objectives which occurs on any and all properties owned or leased by the CPC, as well as to any location where a participant is attending or participating in any CPC related activity.

Definitions

In this Directive the following terms, in singular or plural form according to the context, are defined as follows:

"Academic interference" is any action, undertaken by a participant, which unreasonably interferes with his or her own learning or the learning or evaluation of another participant. Academic interference includes, but is not limited to, the following:

"College Management" means a current member of the CPC Management Team.

"Complainant" means any person who submits a complaint alleging that a participant has violated this Directive.

"Director" means the Superintendent or equivalent responsible for one of the College's training programs.

"Executive Director" means the Assistant Commissioner or equivalent responsible for the Canadian Police College and the Centre for Excellence in Police Leadership.

"Investigator" means a designated person appointed at the time of the incident, by the CPC, to determine whether a participant has violated the Participant Code of Conduct policy and, in collaboration with the appropriate Director and the Training Unit Manager responsible for the participant, to impose sanction(s) when a violation(s) has been committed.

"Offender" means any participant alleged to have violated the Participant Code of Conduct Directive.

"Participant" includes all persons taking courses at the CPC, and includes persons who have been notified of their acceptance for admission.

"Unprofessional conduct" is any disgraceful or disorderly action that could bring discredit to policing. Unprofessional conduct may include, but is not limited to the following:

Directive

Conduct

Participants who behave in a manner which is disruptive to the learning process, or which otherwise interferes with the well-being of other participants or staff, or which causes damage to CPC property or reputation, will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including suspension or expulsion from the CPC. These behaviours include, but are not limited to:

  1. Furnishing with intent, false information to College Management
  2. Disruption or obstruction of teaching or learning activities, including CPC directed functions, on/or off-campus
  3. Physical abuse, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, and/or other conduct as a result of which members of the CPC community feel threatened or endangered
  4. Attempted or actual theft or damage related to the CPC property or of a member of the CPC community
  5. Any act which endangers the mental or physical health, safety, or the rights of a participant or staff of the CPC, or of clients served by the participants during their field work
  6. Failure to comply with directions of College Management or law enforcement officers acting in the performance of their duties and/or failure to identify oneself to these persons when requested to do so
  7. The carrying or possession of explosives, weapons, or dangerous chemicals on CPC premises (except where required for academic purposes)
  8. Disorderly conduct including, but not limited to, any unauthorized use of electronic or other devices to make an audio or video recording of any person while on CPC premises without his or her prior knowledge, or without his or her consent (when such a recording is likely to cause injury or distress, taking pictures of another person in a gym, locker room, or restroom)
  9. Participating, counseling, prompting, or otherwise aiding others in unacceptable acts
  10. Forgery of documents, permits or instruments of identification, or tampering with official records
  11. Possession of or trafficking in a controlled substance as defined in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
  12. Possession of or distribution of cannabis as defined in the Cannabis Act
  13. Contravention of provincial liquor laws or the policies of the CPC governing the possession, distribution, and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages on campus
  14. Being under the influence of either alcohol, cannabis, controlled substances or other intoxicants to the degree that a participant may injure himself or herself or others or property, or be a nuisance or annoyance or disturbance to others in the vicinity or in such a condition that he or she is incapable of taking care of himself or herself

Alcohol consumption

  1. A licensed lounge is located in Building A at the back of the cafeteria. Hours of operation are from 18:00 to midnight Sunday through Thursday, closed on Saturday and Sunday. Hours may vary during July, August, late December, and on holidays
  2. Refusal to adhere to the CPC designated areas of alcohol consumption and/or abuse of alcohol may result in the imposition of sanctions as outlined in this Directive

Noise

  1. Failure to comply with the City of Ottawa Noise By-Law #2004-253 between the hours of 2200 - 0700am while on Campus grounds or staying in residence may result in the imposition of sanctions as outlined in this Directive

Cannabis consumption

  1. The CPC is an RCMP facility. Cannabis consumption is specifically prohibited on all CPC campus grounds including but not restricted to, all land, property, structures, installations, vehicles, and equipment owned, leased, operated, or otherwise controlled by the RCMP
  2. Nothing contained here affects a person's ability to use cannabis or cannabis products if that person is authorized to do so in accord with the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations

Sanctions

The assignment of sanctions should be based on the potential of the misconduct to interfere with the learning of the participant committing the misconduct, other participants or with the CPC's evaluations of other participants. Sanctions for academic interference and unprofessional conduct may include one or more of the following:

  1. The participant may be required to submit a written apology and a promise of good conduct
  2. The participant may be instructed, in writing, to stop interfering with the learning or evaluation of other participants
  3. The participant may be denied use of CPC's non-academic services such as participant accommodations, food services and recreational facilities
  4. The participant may be required to pay restitution for any damage or loss
  5. The participant may be returned to his or her employer
  6. If a participant is dismissed and/or returned to his/her employer, the full tuition, accommodation and meal costs will be charged and
  7. Participants may be prohibited from participating in future training activities at the college for a period of time as specified by the relevant program Director

Responsibilities

Office of the Registrar

The Registrar will refer all participants to the Facility and Participant Guide as well as all the CPC Academic Directives on the CPC website prior to their arrival at the CPC.

CPC staff

Should a CPC staff member become aware of a breach of the CPC Participant Code of Conduct involving a participant attending a course at the CPC, that staff member shall report the incident to the responsible Training Unit Manager.

Course instructor

  1. Should the Course Instructor identify a participant in breach of this policy or any other CPC directives, he/she will attempt to resolve the incident informally
  2. Informally negotiated sanctions may or may not include the participant being dismissed and sent back to his or her home organization
  3. For incidents involving a participant attending a course being given by staff from the CPC Ottawa campus, the Course Instructor responsible for the participant is responsible for accepting, on behalf of the CPC, the negotiated resolution of the issue
  4. For incidents involving a participant attending a course being given by staff from the CPC West Campus, the Course Instructor responsible for the participant is responsible for accepting, on behalf of the CPC, the negotiated resolution of the issue
  5. If the informal resolution process is successful, the incident is to be treated as closed. Informal resolutions will not be reported to the participant's employer and no formal record will be kept
  6. Should the participant refuse to accept a negotiated settlement resolution, the incident will be referred to the Training Unit Manager

Training unit manager

  1. Upon receiving the report of an incident, the manager of the unit will attempt to identify the participant alleged to be responsible and make an initial evaluation. If, after an initial investigation, he or she determines that the incident is trivial, or that the incident was not reported in good faith, the unit manager will take no further action
  2. If the incident is deemed to be sufficiently serious as to require a formal response from the CPC, he or she will refer it to the relevant Program Director. If it is determined that the incident does not require a formal response, he or she will refer it for informal resolution to the Course Instructor responsible for the participant

Program director

  1. The Program Director will review the allegations of misconduct presented to him/her, provide the participant with an opportunity to respond, and then render a decision
  2. If the Program Director decides that the participant has misbehaved, he or she will assign one or more of the sanctions outlined in this directive. The sanction must be proportional to the seriousness of the misconduct
  3. If the sanction entails returning the participant to his or her employer, the Program Director will inform the employer outlining the nature of the misconduct. For all other sanctions, the Program Director, after assessing the seriousness of the misconduct, may elect to inform the participant's employer of the misconduct and sanction
  4. The Program Director must inform the participant in writing of the outcome of the adjudication, including any prescribed sanctions. He or she must also include a written explanation of his or her decision and notification that the participant has the right to appeal the decision to the Executive Director of the CPC
  5. If the misconduct is deemed to be exceptionally serious, the Program Director may direct that the participant be returned to his or her home organization immediately. Otherwise, no sanctions will be applied until the two-day appeal period has expired or the Executive Director has rendered a decision on a participant's appeal

Participant

  1. The participant may appeal any action or decision of the Training Unit Manager
  2. The participant may refuse any negotiated sanction suggested by the Course Instructor or Training Unit Manager, but once having agreed to an informal, negotiated sanction, may not subsequently appeal the decision
  3. The participant has the right to appeal the decision of the Program Director or to the Executive Director of the CPC. Such appeals may be made only on the grounds that the decisions concerning his/her culpability or the sanction being assigned were unreasonable or biased. In his/her appeal, the participant must explain the basis for the appeal and provide explanatory documentation. Should a participant choose to appeal, he/she must notify the office of the Executive Director of his/her intention to appeal within two working days of receiving notification that he or she will be sanctioned
  4. The participant(s) will be provided a copy of this directive with the written notification of the charge(s) so that they may be informed of the manner in which they will be allowed to present their case, as well as possible outcomes
  5. A participant may appeal a decision of the Program Director after leaving the CPC but is not entitled to any financial support from the CPC should he or she decides to do so

Executive director

  1. The Executive Director may nullify or vary decisions made during the initial adjudication by the Program Director. Varying a sanction may include both reducing and increasing the severity or number of sanctions
  2. The Executive Director must provide a written account of his/her decisions to the participant and an explanation of how they were reached.
  3. If the Executive Director deliberations lead to the application of a new sanction, he or she will delegate the application of the sanction and, if required, inform the participant's employer

Related directives

Academic appeal - A08

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