A Peel Regional Police drug cop has resigned after he told his confidential informant someone had called Crime Stoppers to report the informant as a drug dealer — providing enough information to identify the anonymous tipster.
Daniel Young — a 41-year-old detective constable with Peel’s Major Drugs, Vice and Street Crime unit — pleaded guilty in a Brampton court on Friday to criminal breach of trust stemming from a 2018 incident.
Young, who served for 15 years with the Peel Regional Police, is scheduled to be sentenced early next month. He submitted his resignation on Wednesday, according to an agreed statement of facts entered into evidence Friday.
Peter Brauti, the lawyer representing Young, said his client “clearly made a mistake.
“He’s owned up to it. And it’s going to have a significant impact on his life, ”Brauti said.
Crown lawyer Peter Scrutton declined to comment Friday.
According to the agreed statement of facts, Young had met the confidential informant years before when he was a uniformed patrol officer. The informant provided Young with “accurate and reliable information” that resulted in drug seizures. During the time that he was an informant, Young told the man to stop using drugs and stay out of trouble, the document says.
On Jan. 6, 2018, a tipster submitted information through Peel Region’s Crime Stoppers website about Young’s confidential informant (CI), according to the agreed facts. The tipster, who knew the police informant via a family relationship, alleged the informant was a drug dealer and a drug addict.
“The tipster submitted the tip in hopes the CI would be apprehended and the relationship with the family member would end,” the court document states.
The next month, Young — who, through his role on the drug unit, had access to Crime Stoppers tips on his beat — saw his informant’s name on one of the tips.
According to the document, Young alerted his informant about the tip and provided a photograph of the tip sheet that included the date the information was sent in.
“The CI deduced the identity of the tipster,” the agreed facts state. “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 alerted the informant “that a tip had been made about them to encourage them to stop using and/or selling drugs.”
The Crime Stoppers tipster, who was concerned that their identity had been shared, “immediately” complained to Peel police and lodged a complaint with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, Ontario’s police complaints watchdog, the agreed facts state.
Young was suspended in August of 2018 after an internal investigation, then criminally charged in June 2021.
A spokesperson for Peel Regional Police said that following the investigation the service reviewed all internal procedures for handling Crime Stoppers tips and made some changes.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
Peel police also conducted routine audits to confirm compliance with our directives, Peel police said.
According to an FAQ on the Peel Crime Stoppers’ website, anonymity is “one of the pillars” of the tip-line program. “Our call takers would never jeopardize this. It is of utmost importance that our callers remain anonymous.”
The court document notes Young had an otherwise unblemished record, except for a minor red-light infraction. While being a confidential informant handler, Young’s information “resulted in several arrests, take downs and significant drug seizures; I have received several internal commendations for these accomplishments,” the agreed facts state.
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