B.C. orders investigation after unauthorized release of gang-unit document

British Columbia's gang squad and the Abbotsford Police Department say a sensitive law enforcement intelligence document was posted on an online media site. RCMP Assistant Commissioner Manny Mann, officer in charge of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C., holds a notebook with an "End Gang Life" sticker on it during a news conference in Burnaby, B.C., Monday, May 10, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A special investigation has been launched into the unauthorized release of a sensitive law enforcement document, the B.C. government announced Wednesday, two weeks after the investigation apparently began.

The Abbotsford Police Department announced on Nov. 14 that it had become aware of the breach, saying the document had been displayed "on an online media site." 

The contents of the document were related to the ongoing B.C. gang conflict, with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. – the province's anti-gang police unit – also involved in announcing the breach.

At the time, police said they had determined how the information became compromised and the document had been removed.

The APD said there was no indication that the privacy breach had originated within that department, and that the RCMP was investigating on its end.

In a statement Wednesday, B.C.'s Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said the provincial director of police services had ordered an independent investigation under the Police Act in the case two weeks ago, on Nov. 22.

"To ensure the independence of the investigation, the director of police services appointed B.C.'s RCMP Major Crimes Unit to investigate, with oversight by Saskatchewan RCMP," the ministry's statement reads.

"As this matter is under investigation, no further comment will be made."