Toronto police are refusing to open internal disciplinary hearings to greater public scrutiny, critics say.

According to the provincial Police Services Act, hearings conducted by the Police Services Board must be open to the public and notice of the tribunals must be published. The only exception is for prevention of risks to public or personal security.

But police officials have refused to release an advance monthly schedule of hearings and have repeatedly denied requests to see lists of those facing charges. 

Requests by the CBC to view those lists have gone unanswered for the past four months.

"By law, the information should not be kept confidential because the hearings are supposed to be public," said Alok Mukherjee, chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, a civilian agency overseeing the police force.

Officers face tribunals when charged with violating the Police Services Act for such acts as drinking on the job, corruption and abuse of the badge.

Hearings open, says chief

Toronto police Chief Bill Blair insists the hearings are open, and the public can attend the disciplinary hearings by coming to the second floor of police headquarters at 40 College St. each day.

"We attempt to run that tribunal process in a very transparent way," he said. "I mean the public is able to come."

But observers suggest the police deter public scrutiny by keeping doors open, but refusing to post agendas and names.

"There's no reason why [the public] should have to go down at nine o'clock in the morning to see whether or not something is on the list," said lawyer and police critic Paul Copeland.

"The information should be available and it should be available to the public in a timely fashion," he added.