Review of ‘bungled’ probe into toddler’s death prompts more oversight of police
HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government says it will provide more oversight to rural police departments, a day after an independent review found the force in Truro badly mishandled its investigation into the death of a three-year-old girl.
Justice Minister Diana Whalen said Thursday that she would accept all of the recommendations in the review by Gerard Mitchell, a retired chief justice who looked into how police in Truro investigated the death of Samantha Mercer in 2005.
Whalen said that includes doing regular audits of municipal police services, adding that the force now gets support from the RCMP.
“That was 10 years ago and today I think the public can be very confident that the Truro Police is operating at a high standard of professional ability and is properly resourced,” she said.