Ottawa police Chief Vern White said police are within their jurisdiction to pursue criminal charges against a man alleged to have infected others with a sexually transmitted disease. (CBC)

The Ottawa Police Services Board said it won't be reviewing police policy over how it discloses information about people wanted for allegedly spreading infectious diseases such as HIV.

The board made the decision Monday after hearing a petition from representatives of the Ottawa gay and lesbian community upset with how police handled a recent case.

Ottawa police released a picture of Steven Paul Boone in May after charging him with several counts of aggravated sexual assault for allegedly spreading a sexually transmitted disease. They also warned the public of his history to ensure all his sexual partners were informed and sought medical care.

Police later added five other counts of aggravated sexual assault, two counts of sexual assault and four counts of breach of probation.

Brent Bauer of the Ottawa Gay Men's Wellness Initiative said the picture should never have been made public and argued letting police — and not public health officials — handle cases involving HIV and other diseases will backfire because it discourages people from getting tested in the first place.

But Ottawa police Chief Vern White said police were well within their jurisdiction to handle what he said was ultimately a criminal matter.

"I don't think there was an appetite by the board anymore than there was by me to have a discussion about whether there should be a change as to whether something is criminal," said White.

Public health officials in Ottawa had also expressed concern that they were not included in the decision to release information about the suspect.

Criminal charges have been laid in similar cases across the country.

In 2009, an HIV-positive man, 52-year-old Johnson Aziga of Hamilton, Ont., was found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of two of his sex partners in what was considered a precedent-setting decision.