Report 2014-2015

Case

CSC’s Office of Internal Disclosure (OID) has recently completed an investigation under the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (PSDPA), following the receipt of a disclosure of wrongdoing in the Public Service. It was alleged that a supervisor was misusing CSC facilities, supplies and materials to perform repairs on his/her own personal vehicles, and on the private vehicles of CSC staff members, while also allowing staff to benefit from these assets by allowing them to perform work on their own vehicles. It was also alleged that the supervisor directed CSC drivers to pick up auto parts from various supply stores, using CSC fleet vehicles, so that these parts could then be used by the supervisor in his/her private business.

Findings

A thorough investigation was completed in order to establish the veracity of these allegations. Based on the findings of the Board of Investigation, the Senior Officer for Disclosure determined that the supervisor had committed the following wrongdoings under the PSDPA:

MISUSE OF PUBLIC ASSETS – section 8(b) of the PSDPA

The supervisor misused public assets by using CSC facilities, supplies and materials to:

• perform tire changes and minor repairs on the personal vehicles of other CSC employees; and
• perform car washes, tire changes and oil changes on his/her personal vehicles on several occasions.

SERIOUS BREACH OF A CODE OF CONDUCT – section 8(e) of the PSDPA

The supervisor committed a serious breach of Standard One of CSC’s Standards of Professional Conduct- Responsible Discharge of Duties, by allowing and facilitating a group of CSC employees to benefit from CSC facilities to perform car washes, oil changes and tire changes on their personal vehicles.

KNOWINGLY DIRECTING OR COUNSELING A PERSON TO COMMIT A WRONGDOING – section 8(f) of the PSDPA

The Board found that the supervisor directed staff to commit wrongdoing when he/she directed employees to use CSC fleet vehicles and CSC staff time in order to pick up auto parts/paint for him/her from local businesses. This was done to benefit the supervisor’s private business.

Conclusion

Throughout the investigation, it was observed that in addition to the supervisor, a small group of staff members had been benefiting from this situation. These employees used CSC facilities, supplies and materials to perform light maintenance work on their personal vehicles; and/or used CSC fleet vehicles to conduct errands that were not related to CSC business.

Furthermore, there appeared to be instances where offenders, who were employed in the department, were unwittingly implicated in the wrongdoing by the supervisor. The inmates were involved in cleaning and/or repairing the personal vehicles of CSC employees.

Recommendations

The Senior Officer for Disclosure presented nine recommendations addressing, amongst others, disciplinary measures, risk mitigation strategies, and staff accountability measures. It was also recommended that the gist of this investigation be used as a “lessons learned” document to be shared with the head of each Region. These recommendations have been approved by the Commissioner of Corrections and are in the process of being implemented.