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REPORT RAPPORT |
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REPORT RAPPORT |
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DATE: |
21 July
2005 |
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TO: |
Executive
Director, Ottawa Police Services Board |
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FROM: |
Director,
Information and Technology, Ottawa Police Service |
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SUBJECT: |
OPS Records Retention Schedule
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RECOMMENDATION
Management of the records collected by an
organization involves applying established procedures that ensure records are
current, secure, used appropriately and retained/disclosed/destroyed in
accordance with appropriate legislation.
Section AI-007 of the Policing Standards Manual, based on the Adequacy
Standards for Policing in Ontario, lists the legislative and regulatory
requirements for police records management.
To comply with the requirements, police services must establish a
records retention schedule.
Effective
and efficient records management practices include the life cycle management of
records, from collection to destruction, as well as disclosure during
retention. A retention schedule governs
the life cycle of an organization’s records.
Adherence to it is important, in light of the fact that records held
past their retention period can become a liability.
Following amalgamation, the Ottawa-Carleton
Regional Police Service harmonized the Records Retention Schedules of the
former Gloucester, Nepean and Ottawa Police Services. At the same time, these schedules were reviewed in light of guidelines
published by Ontario’s LEARN, the Law Enforcement Records Managers’
Network. In May of 1999, the Police
Services Board delegated its authority to the Chief to approve the harmonized
Records Retention Schedule. Although in
use since then, the Schedule was not submitted to City Council to be enacted as
a by-law, as required under the Municipal Act.
DISCUSSION
The OPS
Records Retention Schedule specifies retention periods for the various
categories of records held by the organization. The attached “Retention of Police Reports Schedule” specifies the
period of time police reports are retained, the length of which is determined
by the type of offence involved. For
example, all major crime related reports are kept for 25 years, with reports
pertaining to murders being kept indefinitely.
New patterns observed in criminal behaviour
often result in requests to increase records retention schedules for certain
types of reports. At the same time,
pressures to limit retention of records stem from the impact that longer
retention periods have on personal privacy issues and the resource requirements
to manage these records, both in terms of storage capacity and in terms of
staff required to process requests for disclosure under MFIPPA (the
Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act). As a result, periodic revisions of Records
Retention Schedules are normal. The OPS Retention of Police Reports Schedule
submitted to the Police Services Board at this time includes a number of
changes to the schedule approved in 1999, such as the increase of the retention
period for certain residential Break & Enter reports from five to ten
years.
The final step in the approval process for the
proposed retention schedule rests with City Council. Staff have consulted with OPS legal advisors, who have confirmed
that the schedule must come into force by being enacted in a City by-law. Staff are asking that, upon approval of the
retention schedule, the Board make this request of Council.
Not required.
Not applicable.
Approval and implementation of the proposed OPS
Retention of Police Reports Schedule is a timely course of action. It will ensure that the organization has a
retention schedule which reflects current policing trends and balance these
needs against privacy issues and resource requirements.
______________________
Livia
Brandon
Director,
Information and Technology
______________________
Debra
Frazer
Director
General
______________________
Vince
Bevan
Chief of
Police
Attach.
(1)
