Special Investigations Unit

Name

Special Investigations Unit

Legal name

Special Investigations Unit

Website

https://siu.on.ca

Company type

Public

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civilian Police Oversight

NAICS

Police Protection (92212), Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

White-Collar Defense & Investigations (BPAHAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Special Operations & Counterterrorism (BPAIAHAH)

Keywords

• Civilian police oversight
• Police conduct investigations
• Law enforcement accountability
• Forensic investigative services
• Public safety reporting

Headquarters

HQ city

Mississauga

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: The SIU is a provincial government agency funded by the Ontario government. It operates as a civilian oversight body mandated to investigate police conduct. As a public sector organization, it does not generate commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is Ontario's civilian oversight agency that investigates police conduct involving death, serious injury, sexual assault allegations, or firearm discharge at a person. Operating under its own governing legislation (Special Investigations Unit Act, 2019), the SIU conducts independent criminal investigations, issues public reports on case outcomes, supports affected persons through dedicated programs, and collects race-based data to identify systemic issues in policing.

Product overview

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is Ontario's civilian oversight agency that operates as a unified service rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The SIU's core mandate is to investigate police conduct resulting in death, serious injury, sexual assault, or firearm discharge at a person. The organization provides investigative services, supported by auxiliary programs including the Affected Persons Program (victim support), Outreach Program (community engagement), Director's Resource Committee (advisory), First Nations, Inuit and Métis Liaison Program (indigenous relations), and Race-Based Data Collection (demographic analysis). Public transparency is delivered through Director's Reports, Annual Reports, Case Status tracking, and News Releases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% of SIU investigations result in no charges; approximately 26.2% of cases resolved by memo (prior to full investigation)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Wilfrid Laurier UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2022Academic partnership for race-based data analysis. Wilfrid Laurier University researchers (Patrick G. Watson, PhD and T. Sidhu, MA) analyzed SIU race-based data collected pursuant to the Anti-Racism Act, 2017. Researchers provided independent analysis and recommendations for improving data collection methodology to identify systemic racism in SIU investigations.
• Ministry of the Attorney GeneralcoreOthersThe SIU operates under the Ministry of the Attorney General and Solicitor General. The Director is appointed by Order in Council. The SIU collaborates with these ministries on policy direction, resource allocation, and legislative framework.
• Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (NAPS)coreOthersIn December 2024, NAPS became the first Indigenous police service in Ontario to opt-in to the Community Safety and Policing Act, bringing First Nations communities policed by NAPS under SIU oversight for independent civilian investigation.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Manitoba Independent Investigation Unit (IIU): Manitoba's civilian oversight agency investigating serious incidents involving police officers. Closely mirrors the SIU's mandate, scope, and investigative process within another Canadian province.
• Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC): The UK's national body for overseeing police complaints and investigations, handling the most serious incidents and conduct matters. Closest international analogue to the SIU's independent-investigation-with-charging-power model.
• Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI): Quebec's civilian oversight agency that investigates police conduct resulting in death or serious injury. It is the most direct functional peer to the Ontario SIU, operating under equivalent statutory charging authority in a neighbouring Canadian jurisdiction.
• NYPD Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB): New York City's independent civilian oversight agency investigating complaints against NYPD officers. Comparable in civilian-oversight scope and public-reporting practices, though without criminal charging authority like the SIU.
• BC Independent Investigations Office (IIO): British Columbia's civilian-led investigative body for incidents involving on-duty police officers resulting in death or serious harm. Operates the same independent-investigation model as the Ontario SIU in a separate Canadian jurisdiction.
• Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC): Federal civilian review body for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, handling complaints and reviews of RCMP conduct. Comparable in oversight mandate but operates at the federal level rather than provincially.
• Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC): New South Wales' independent civilian oversight body overseeing the NSW Police Force, with both investigative and audit functions. Functionally comparable to the SIU as an Australian jurisdiction-level oversight agency.
• Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT): Saskatchewan's civilian-led investigation unit for serious incidents involving municipal police. Directly mirrors the SIU's investigative mandate at a smaller provincial scale.
• Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT): Alberta's civilian oversight body investigating incidents involving police that result in serious injury or death. Directly comparable mandate to the SIU with the same investigation-focused model in a different Canadian province.

Regional players

• Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner (OPCC) - Nova Scotia: Nova Scotia's civilian oversight body for municipal police complaints. Operates with a complaint-review rather than full SIU-style investigative mandate, making it a smaller-scale regional peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SIUOntario

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Special Investigations Unit