A Peel Regional Police drug cop has resigned after telling his confidential informant that Crime Stoppers had been called by someone to report the informant as a drug dealer — providing detailed information on how to identify the anonymous tipster.
Daniel Young, a 41-year-old detective officer with Peel’s Major Drugs, Vice and Street Crime unit, recently pleaded guilty in a Brampton court to criminal breach of trust emanating from a 2018 incident.
Young served with the Peel Regional Police for 15 years and is scheduled to be sentenced in early June. According to an agreed statement of facts entered into evidence, he tendered his resignation recently.
Peter Brauti, Young’s lawyer, said his client “clearly made a mistake.
Brauti said: “He’s owned up to it. And it’s going to have a significant impact on his life.”
As stipulated by the agreed statement of facts, Young met the confidential informant years before when he became a uniformed patrol officer. The informant fed Young with “accurate and reliable information” that brought about drug seizures. During his time as an informant, Young told the man to desist from drugs and steer clear of trouble, the document says.
A tipster submitted information via Peel Region’s Crime Stoppers website about Young’s confidential informant (CI) on January 6, 2018, according to the agreed facts. The tipster, who got to know the police informant through a family relationship, alleged the informant was a drug addict and drug dealer.
The court document states that “the tipster submitted the tip with the hope that the CI would be arrested and the relationship with the family member would come to an end.”
The following month, Young (who by virtue of his role on the drug unit, could access Crime Stoppers tips on his beat ) saw the name of his informant on one of the tips.
According to the document, Young informed his informant about the tip and showed him a photograph of the tip sheet which included the date the information was sent in.
The agreed facts stated that “the CI deduced the identity of the tipster. The CI contacted the tipster to imply that the CI was aware that the tipster had submitted a Crime Stoppers tip about them.”
The court document states that Young had informed the informant “that a tip had been made about them to encourage them to stop using and/or selling drugs.”
The agreed facts stated that the Crime Stoppers tipster, who felt their identity had been shared, “immediately” made a complaint to Peel police and complained to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, Ontario’s police complaints watchdog.
In August 2018, Young was suspended after an internal investigation and was criminally charged in June 2021.
The spokesperson of Peel Regional Police said after the investigation the service examined all internal procedures for handling Crime Stoppers tips and made some changes.
The spokesperson said: “Further we have sent out reminders to all members regarding the confidentiality of Crime Stoppers tips and the importance of compliance with directives in this regard.”
Also, Peel police revealed it conducted routine audits to ensure compliance with its directives.
The court document noted that apart from a minor red-light infraction, Young had an otherwise unstained record. The agreed facts stated that while being a highly confidential informant handler, Young’s information “resulted in several arrests, takedowns and significant drug seizures; he received several internal commendations for these accomplishments.”
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