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Inside:

Policing for the 21

st Century

CACP Passes Resolutions

PTSD Bill is Back

R v Spencer Poses Challenges for Police Services

#OACP #RealLeadership

In my first written message to you as your President, I want to thank and acknowledge the excellent leadership of Chief Paul Cook. Paul worked tirelessly to ensure the OACP, as the “voice of Ontario’s police leaders”, was heard at many levels of government as well as by the media when communicating important community safety messages. He will continue to provide knowledge and support in his role as Past President.

This year, discussions at the Future of Policing Advisory Committee (FPAC) table will continue and we will keep you informed as we move forward in finalizing the recommendations. Among the many important issues to be discussed will be suspension without pay. It is our responsibility as police leaders to speak for not only the interests of our organizations, but for the citizens of Ontario. We believe our policing and government partners share our commitment to listening to Ontarians and making appropriate legislative and other changes on this and other issues impacting policing. At a recent FPAC meeting, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services indicated that the Government of Ontario is ready to introduce changes when it comes to suspension without pay. We are ready to engage in discussions that will lead to change.

For the foreseeable future, I expect that the media and other groups will continue to focus on the cost of policing. Rest assured that I will be delivering a very clear message to the government, the media, and other interested parties that Ontario’s police leaders believe that we must also focus on the value that police provide to community safety when considering the costs associated with those services. I was pleased that the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police passed a resolution calling on all parties to “change the channel” from simply the “economics of policing” to the “economics of community safety and well-being.” We’re ready for that conversation. Con’t on Next Page

Ready to Lead Chief Jennifer Evans

Fall 2014

Four Decades of Women

in the OPP Female police officers are among the best police leaders and strategic thinkers in law enforcement today. Ontario Provincial Police Staff Sergeant Cathy Bell takes a look back on the four decades since women first joined our Provincial service.

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Ready to Lead concluded Decreasing crime rates is not a reliable barometer to measure the number of police officers required to maintain public safety. With the increasing complexity and globalization of criminal activities, it is important that our communities appreciate and fully understand the increasing challenges faced by their police leaders in delivering quality policing services in an accountable and effective manner. For example, legal decisions such as R. vs Spencer will not only delay investigations, but will also impact on police budgets. I look forward to working with you and identifying opportunities to enhance policing as a profession to assist with our recruiting efforts. Jennifer Evans is the Chief of Police of Peel Regional Police and President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police for 2014-15. She can be reached through the OACP office at oacpadmin@oacp.ca

The resolution was proposed in response to the undermining of public trust in police resulting from the inability of Chiefs to suspend officers without pay. Ontario’s police leaders are now seeking to suspend without pay for serious misconduct issues. Ontario is the only jurisdiction in Canada where officers cannot be suspended without pay.

OACP members also passed resolutions on the provision of prisoner meals at Ontario courthouses, Community Safety Plans, and a number of traffic safety related resolutions (Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Project Proposal, licence plate covers and frames, and amendments to the Highway Traffic Act to include definitions for “sidewalk” and “pedestrian”).

Do Ontario’s police leaders have all the answers when it comes to the future of policing? No. The delivery of professional, accountable, and effective policing requires partnerships. We need to respect the needs of our elected officials at all levels to see value for public investments in public services like policing. Police leaders have been entrusted by the people of Ontario to deliver services that keep communities safe for all our citizens.

U.S. President John F. Kennedy once said that, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” Police leaders and its partners have so much to learn and give to each other as we together work to improve policing in Ontario. Here’s hoping everyone is willing to listen.

Policing for the 21st Century by Joe Couto

Following the 2011 Provincial Election, which resulted in a minority government, Ontario suffered from legislative inaction, especially when it came to public safety. Most of us would agree that safe, healthy communities should be a top priority for all our representatives at Queen’s Park. Unfortunately, even the most dedicated MPP can fall prey to the political realities of our democracy, particularly in a minority government situation that breeds the dreaded “perpetual election” cycle.

But hope springs eternal. The 2014 election, which sent a majority government to the legislature, means that our MPPs may now be able to get back to the business of considering longer-term issues and legislative change.

Legislative Inertia

The policing sector was hard hit by legislative inertia. True, the Future of Police Advisory Committee (FPAC) that was called for by the OACP during the 2011 election was active during the period of legislative inactivity. FPAC has been a consultative forum for government to work with its policing partners and others such as the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). FPAC has allowed us to discuss what is needed to match policing to 21

st century public

safety priorities. But consultation must lead to action.

The FPAC recommendations will hopefully pave the way for legislative action in 2015. First and foremost on the OACP’s legislative agenda are needed changes to the Police Services Act. Suspension without pay, accommodation challenges, discipline issues – these and other matters represent areas where government action is needed. Ontario’s police leaders will be respectful but relentless in holding our elected official accountable to the public when it comes to legislative changes.

OACP Resolutions

A good place for the government to start in putting together a proactive policing agenda is found in the set of resolutions passed at our 2014 Annual General Meeting in June. In particular, the OACP approved a new resolution on suspension without pay. Since 2007, we have advocated for discretionary suspension without pay authority since 2006 and approved a 2007 Resolution requesting the ability to suspend w i t h o u t p a y f o r s e r i o u s C r i m i n a l C o d e , Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and other federal offence violations. We further called on the Government of Ontario to amend legislation to provide Chiefs with the ability to suspend without pay where officers were held in custody or the subject of Judicial Interim Release where the officer is prevented from carrying out the duties of a police officer.

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CACP Passes Resolutions Members of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) passed four

resolutions at its Annual Conference in Victoria:

Roadside drug screening tool

Changing terminology from “Economics of Policing” to “economics of Community Safety and Well-Being”

Reducing unintentional 9-1-1 call: Pocket dials, and

Improving outcomes: Police interactions with persons experiencing mental heal issues – CACP support the continuing advancement of the Canadian Mental Health Strategy

To access the resolutions, please visit the CACP website http://www.cacp.ca

The OACP Backs New Anti-theft Tool the Trace™ pen

Chief Jennifer Evans hosted an OACP media conference on September 16 to announce the OACP was taking the unusual step of endorsing the

new Trace™ pen, which allows property owners to invisibly mark and then

easily register their valuables online in a secure Canadian centralized database. The database and product detection tools will be utilized by police to identify stolen property with the goal of reducing property theft in Ontario.

The endorsement is our association’s commitment to help fight property crimes in our province. Across Canada, police had to deal with 1.1 million reports of property crime. Please contact the OACP office for more information.

PTSD Update: Presumptive Law on the Horizon? NDP MPP Cheri Di Novo has re-introduced her Private Member’s Bill to allow for presumption of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for police officers. Bill 2, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), 2014, has been introduced previously. The big question is whether the Government of Ontario may be inclined to support this Bill as a way of “supporting” police officers. The OACP has not taken a position on this proposed legislation.

The OACP continues to work closely with policing and government partners on the Ministry of Labour’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Working Group. This is a police sector working group which the OACP successfully advocated for via a 2011 resolution. The resolution called for a working group to develop solutions to the TSD-related issues facing our sector. It includes policing and government partners

R v Spencer Poses Challenges for Police Services

Many Ontario police services are considering the implications on their organizations of the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision, R v Spencer. The main issue in R v Spencer was whether a user of the Internet has a reasonable expectation of privacy in their basic subscriber information held by the user’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) and whether this prevents police organizations from obtaining information from the ISP without a warrant or court order. Previously, some courts had ruled that ISPs could turn over subscriber contact details from a person’s IP address to police without a warrant or court or der. The Court ruled that a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy associated with Internet activities and that the “lawful authority” exemption in the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) does not create a basis to turn such information to the police. The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services is reaching out to the Ministry of the Attorney General to discuss the implications of this ruling for

law enforcement and what information should be provided to police services. 3

New Police Record Checks Guideline

The OACP is pleased by the very positive response from the Government of Ontario, community and other special interest groups, and the general public regarding our updated version of the LEARN Guideline for Police Record Checks. This document is intended to assist police services understand and apply relevant legislation, policies, procedures and directives to the processing of Police Record Checks. It is also intended to promote consistency in processing methods as well as terminology used throughout the Province of Ontario.

The LEARN Guideline is part of the OACP Board of Directors’ action on this important area of law enforcement in Ontario. The Board motions committed the OACP to short- and long-term objectives (in collaboration with a number of our community partners). The motions were passed in February 2014 and they are:

Motion #1 – Short-term Recommendations

1. Public education about the benefits and limitations of Criminal Record

Checks 2. Presumption against disclosure of non-conviction records 3. Crafting a narrow public safety exception to protect the most

vulnerable people in our communities.

Motion #2 – Long-term Recommendations

Work for provincial change to:

a. Lobby for legislation b. Implement an evidence-based procedure or determining when non-

conviction information can be disclosed.

Ontario Police Services Come Together to Discover Policing; Expo Set for October 15 Mark your calendars for the Discover Exposition, which will take place on

October 15, 2014 at the Toronto Police College. It is part of the Discover

Policing initiative endorsed by the OACP. This event is an opportunity for

all Ontario police services to showcase the profession of policing to

potential candidates in Ontario. The initiative will (1) increase collaboration

among all police services in an effort to promote the profession of policing

(2) share best practices in recruiting strategies (3) ensure that our

organizations represent the diversity of our communities and (4) improve

the consistency and effectiveness of our messaging when it comes to

recruitment.

For more information on the Discover Policing Exposition, please contact OPP Inspector Dave Quigley at Dave.Quigley@opp.ca.

Ontario’s Top Police Leaders to Meet in November at OACP Police CEOs Day Chiefs of Police, Deputy Chiefs, and other police leaders from services across Ontario will be meeting in Toronto on November 12 in Toronto to discuss today’s critical issues in law enforcement and public safety.

“It can be a challenge for police leaders to avoid working in silos,” said Chief Jeff McGuire (Niagara Regional PS), the OACP’s First Vice President. “We all have enough on our individual plates to keep us busy. But there is a great value in getting out of that silo and interacting with other Chiefs and police leaders. I’ve come to appreciate the opportunity to listen and ask questions about issues impacting other services that might impact mine.”

Concluded on the next page

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Minister Acknowledges Consultation Should Have Occurred on OPC Fees Increase But Hikes Goes Ahead During a meeting with members of the OACP Board Executive, Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Yasir Naqvi acknowledged that Ontario’s police leaders should have been consulted on the Government of Ontario’s decision to increase fees for recruits attending the Ontario Police College (OPC) by almost 50 percent. The increase is, however, will still come into effect on January 1, 2015. In a media release issued on August 28, OACP President Chief Jennifer Evans stated that the increase will have a serious impact on the efforts of all police services to attract the best candidates for policing. “At a time when police services are working hard under fiscal constraints to compete with other professions to promote policing as a career and attract the best candidates, this announcement does nothing to assist us in recruiting future officers who are professional, accountable, and dedicated to serving their communities,” she said. Chief Evans noted that police across the province are working through the OACP and in their communities to address the diminishing number of candidates considering a police career. She emphasized that the fee increase may discourage individuals from applying to become police officers because of the high cost of attending OPC – particularly individuals from a poor economic backgrounds and post-secondary graduates already carrying large student loans.

“The fact that the Government of Ontario did not consult with its policing partners is troubling,” said Chief Evans. “Strong police organizations are critical to building safe and healthy communities. This decision should have first discussed within the Future of Policing Advisory Committee process.”

The fee increase comes at time when Ontario police services are coming together to promote policing as a career as part of the Discover Policing initiative. The OACP is hosting a Discover Policing Exposition on October 15 at the Toronto Police College. For more information, please visit www.discoverpolicing.ca or access @DiscoverPolicin on Twitter and “Discover Policing” on LinkedIn.

Police CEOs Day cont’ed

This opportunity to gather Ontario’s top cops in one location is critically important for police leaders to learn, share, and discuss issues of importance to their

services and their communities

The Police CEOs meeting is especially useful for police leaders to hear directly from OACP Board members and senior staff about the work of the OACP, our

position on issues, and the potential impact of various issues.

“The value of the OACP is that it brings all of us – small and large services, the OPP, the RCMP, First Nations – together,” noted Chief Murray Rodd of the

Peterborough Lakefield Community Police Service. “I really look forward to the Policing CEO meeting because we’re all in the same room hearing the same

things and sharing. We need to be aware of the issues and providing consistent information to our communities.”

We encourage all Chiefs of Police to ensure their service is represented at the Policing CEO meeting. A formal invitation will be sent out in October. Chiefs attending the CEO Day will also want to stay on for the OACP Tradeshow taking place on November 13. More information on the tradeshow will be communicated soon.

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Celebrating 40 Years of Women Policing in the OPP

By Staff Sergeant Cathy Bell The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is celebrating the 40

th anniversary of women in policing. Women have been employed in key

OPP positions since 1909; however, it wasn’t until almost 65 years later women were recruited to its uniform ranks. Referred to as “girls” in the OPP Review magazine in 1974, then Commissioner Harold Graham acknowledged there was a role for women in policing and they had to qualify just like men. The only difference was a variance in the height and weight restrictions – they had to be at least 5’4” and 110 pounds. Women received equivalent pay, were made members of the Ontario Provincial Police Association, and were said to be equal in all respects to men in the role. The challenges were just beginning!

Pre-1974 OPP recruiting posters had touted the role of police constable as a “Career for a Man Who Wants to go Places”, and there were some who still believed policing was only suited for men. Today, an issue faced by police services is the ability to recruit and retain qualified members. The OPP has hired more than 2,000 women since 1974, and currently 1,300 of the just over 6,100 uniform members are female, representing 21% of the workforce. This is in line with the national average and above most police services in Ontario. Sandy Thomas, Chief Superintendent in charge of the OPP Career Development Bureau, is mindful of current recruiting needs, and says, “The OPP is actively recruiting qualified officers who reflect the demographics of the communities we police. Some of the most important attributes for all recruits to possess include: professionalism, respect, leadership and community involvement, and communications skills.” she said.

The OPP has welcomed women in uniform roles since 1974 and we value the positive impact of those original members who faced unique challenges and opened doors for the advancement of women in the organization. Over the years, women have filled most uniform positions within the OPP. Commissioner Thomas O’Grady was proud to have increased diversity in the OPP and his successor was Gwen Boniface, the first female OPP Commissioner. Boniface joined the organization in 1976 and went on to the top spot and became the first female President of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. The 40th anniversary will be recognized at events in December 2014 including: Public Street displays at OPP General Headquarters, “Lunch and Learn” opportunities and a Celebration of Women Dinner at the Mariposa Inn in Orillia on December 3. The OPP has evolved since the era of skirts, nylons, heels, and guns in purses! Commissioner Vince Hawkes agrees. “After 40 years, the pioneering women of the OPP remain an inspiration for all recruits who have followed and will follow them. In my 30 years with the OPP, I have had the privilege to work with many inspiring women – both uniform and civilian. The future holds no shortage of opportunities for recruits of all genders and backgrounds to become exceptional leaders, to innovate and to reach for even greater heights.”

Staff Sergeant Cathy Bell can be reached at Cathy.Bell@opp.ca.

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