The Vancouver Police Department doesn't appear to be in any hurry to explain how three tourists were placed in jeopardy by a leaked police memo.

Not to follow through on this would be a mistake.

Last week, the British men of Pakistani descent, including two who were visually impaired, were seen taking photographs inside and around Pacific Centre Mall.

Police wanted to determine their identities and somehow, the men's photos appeared on a local website.

The men were described as looking like they were from the Middle East, fuelling fears of a potential terrorist attack. We can only imagine how awful that must have been for employees working inside Pacific Centre.

The website has since stated that it "discussed the details of the bulletin with police".

This message was reinforced in a Facebook exchange involving a writer for the website.

While it would be easy to let this matter drop, that won't serve the community over the longer term.

The public needs to trust the police for them to be able to do their job effectively.

To quote the father of modern policing, Sir Robert Peel, "The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence."

But that trust can be undermined by any perception that the VPD might have leaked the photos to the website because someone felt that the department didn't have enough information to put out a standard news release.

This must be addressed. Otherwise, it will breed suspicion of the VPD's approach to domestic terrorism among those who might be in a position to help counter potential plots.

Over the longer term, that heightens the risk to public safety.

B.C. Muslims, in particular, have reason to wonder about what happened. Is the VPD practising racial profiling and using a third-party website to achieve its objectives? Was any other police force involved in the leak of information about the three men?

Under the Code of Professional Conduct Regulation, it's a disciplinary default for a police officer to engage in "improper disclosure of information".

It wouldn't be difficult for the VPD to determine if any emails went from its building or any of its officers to the operators of the website that first reported the information.

So why doesn't there appear to be any effort to get to the bottom of this?

It's worth noting that the VPD worked closely with the owners of the website on the city's recent New Year's Eve party, which was attended by Chief Adam Palmer. There was also a Fireworks Viewing Lounge sponsored by the owner of the Pacific Centre Mall.

Perhaps these connections are coincidental, but they're enough to make one wonder if there needs to be an independent investigation.

This could be accomplished in the following manner:

• File a complaint with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, demanding an investigation into whether anyone employed by the Vancouver Police Department, including Chief Palmer, committed a disciplinary default in connection with the dissemination of information about the three men to the local website.

• The complainant should ask specifically if any Vancouver police officer, including Chief Palmer, violated the professional code of conduct regulation concerning what constitutes "discreditable conduct", "improper disclosure of information", or "being a party to a disciplinary default". 

• Under the B.C. Police Act, any complaint that involves a chief requires an investigation by a different police department.

Framing a complaint in this manner would result in an independent probe.

So far, nobody has filed a complaint to the Office of the B.C. Police Complaints Commissioner. If Palmer was not involved in the leak of information, he has nothing to worry about if someone goes ahead and does this. And it just might restore confidence among those who wonder how three tourists' faces ended up being splashed across the news for taking photos on a trip to the mall.