Toronto's police chief wants the power to freeze the pay of officers accused of serious wrongdoing, even if the accusations haven't been proven in court.

Bill Blair will deliver a report Thursday to the Toronto Police Services Board asking for the right to suspend officers without pay in "certain limited circumstances."

"Allegations are one thing. But we've seen many cases in the past where allegations have come forward and at the end of the day, the information isn't there," said Dave Wilson, the head of Toronto's police union, who agrees with Blair's recommendations.

He says just because the courts are slow doesn't mean officers should lose pay while judges decide their fate.

Former officers collecting $63,000 salary

In Toronto, eight officers are suspended with pay. They include four former drug squad officers charged with offences such as theft, extortion, perjury and assault.

Due to delays and new investigations, not one has faced a trial or been convicted. They have been collecting annual salaries of $63,000 for several years as their cases remain in limbo.

Ontario's Police Services Act protects all officers accused of or charged with an offence from losing pay during their suspension from duty unless the officer has been convicted in court.

There are even cases where officers have received their salaries after being convicted of a crime, even though the provincial police act allows the chief to not pay them.

Officer paid after conviction

Const. Roy Preston was caught on video assaulting a Somalian refugee and sentenced to 30 days in prison. When the constable filed an appeal, Toronto's police chief decided to reinstate Preston's pay.

Mark Pugash, a Toronto police spokesman, defended the decision, saying the criminal process is not finished.

"You can't dismiss the significance of an appeal and the chief's view was that given the criminal process is not and has not finished, that it was the fair and just decision to reach, and that's why he did what he did," said Pugash.

However, the chief of police has the right to suspend an officer without pay if the person has been convicted and sentenced to time in prison, even if the conviction is under appeal, according to the provincial police act.

Blair states in his recommendations that the RCMP and police in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec have the right to suspend pay to officers accused of a crime in serious cases, and he wants Ontario to follow suit.