Long-awaited standards set for Ontario police record checks

Ontario has become the first province in Canada to set clear standards for issuingpolice record checks across its regions.

ThePolice Record Checks Reform Act,first introduced in 2015, came into effect on Nov. 01, 2018. The new legislation strives to streamlinethe process and provide consistency from Ontario's police services.

Paul Cormierchairs the Law Enforcement and Records Managers Network (LEARN)committee for the Ontario Association Chiefs of Police. He also has more than a decade of experience as Records Manager atthe Waterloo Regional Police Service. Cormiersaid heand his colleagues started noticing vast inconsistencies in what police disclosed in 2008.

He said some jurisdictions would release certain information while others would choose to withhold the same details, which made it particularly confusing for those receiving record checks, such as provincial organizations.

"Imagine if you're an Ontario-wide organization like Boy Scouts or Big Sisters. They'd get record checks on different forms called different things with different information released," he said.

Changes follow 'good principles of democracy'

Cormiersaid the changes to the lawbetter protects an individual's privacy and rights when it comes to records checks.

"Back in 2003, we thought we had to release all of that information because policehad access to it all," said Cormier.

"How could we not release this information if we knew about something that might protect youth or vulnerable populations?"

Details like mental health apprehensions, non-conviction information or investigationswere all disclosed in past police checks.

Cormiersaidthelegislationhas been widely supported because it respects Canadian Charter rights and follows "good principles of democracy."

Today, the protocols adoptthree strict types of record checks outlined by OACPguidelines from 2014, to which police must adhere.

It means record checks will only include non-conviction information for "very specific purposes" and for the protection of vulnerable populations such as youth.

Additionally, youth records will only be disclosed to the individual or to the federal, provincial or municipal governments for employment or service reasons.

"Basically, it clarifies what people are allowed to ask for," Cormier said.

Record checkjust a snapshot, not whole picture

Last year, Ontario police processed around 750,000 record checks. Cormiersaid he recalls when his Waterloo region would process fewer than 15,000 requests a year in the early 2000s.This year, his jurisdiction is looking at completing more than 45,000 checks.

He's hoping more people will learn to stop over-relying on record checks.

"At no point in time have record checksbeen the best way of ensuring safety for people in an organizationthat these agencies are responsible for," he said, and hecontinues to warn agencies that they can't solely rely on a record check to represent an individual's background.

"We only provide a snapshot," he said. "You don't find out all of the information about somebody from a recordcheck. Just because it's clear, doesn'tmean they're safe; just because it's not clear, doesn't mean they can't work for you. Each individual check has to be looked at independently."

To have a more comprehensive screening process for determining an individual's risk, Cormierurges organizations to turn to Volunteer Canada's 10-step process and the Canadian Centre for Child Protections programs.

"People make mistakes. Life goes on. We need people to move forward."