Ottawa police Chief Vern White announced an internal investigation after news of the Stacy Bonds case broke in mid-November. (Canadian Press)

Ottawa police have added another level of supervision over their Elgin Street cellblock, and hired a communications firm to improve their public image ahead of a Monday meeting with the police services board.

The Ottawa Police Service outlined the changes in a status report released Friday. The force has been mired in scandal since November when a judge stayed charges against Stacy Bonds, and said she was both unlawfully arrested and treated inhumanely in 2008 while in police custody.

Bonds filed a lawsuit against police Friday in Toronto, and her arrest and subsequent strip-search is being investigated by Ontario's Special Investigations Unit — a civilian agency that deals with cases of death, serious injury or sexual assault that involve the police.

Ottawa police Chief Vern White launched an internal review of cellblock operations when news of the Bonds case broke. The review is examining police policies surrounding cellblock operations, intoxicated suspects, and strip searches.

Friday's update on the internal investigation included news that the SIU will not be investigating another cellblock video showing questionable police conduct that was discovered in early December.

The Ontario Provincial Police will now investigate that video and one other. Details have not been released about either video because both cases are before the courts, police said.

The SIU is still investigating the Bonds video, which was released to the public on Nov. 26, and one other video showing Terry Delay, a homeless man, being kicked as he's put into a jail cell.

Oversight, communications changes

New directives for arresting intoxicated people and conducting strip searches were posted for all police officers on Nov. 19, the report said.

A staff sergeant in charge of security and temporary custody has been moved from Ottawa's courthouse to the central cellblock. The sergeant has been tasked to oversee operations and file daily reports recording information about prisoners and identifying any issues, police said in the report.

Audio surveillance of the cellblock is set to begin in early 2011 when a $50,000 system is installed. The cellblock currently has only video surveillance, which was introduced during a 2005 renovation, police said.

Police will also pay Face Value Communications $40,000 to provide "strategic communication and issue management advice." Police said the contract would be paid for with money left over in its 2010 budget.

Police also released a snapshot of the cellblock's activity from this year. As of Dec. 13, 9,519 prisoners had been processed through the central cellblock. Almost half of them were sent for a bail hearing, while the other half were released on other conditions.