OTTAWA POLICE SERVICES BOARD MEMORANDUM
COMMISSION DE SERVICES POLICIERS NOTE DE SERVICE
Your File/V/Réf.
DATE 21 February 2006
TO/DEST. Chair
and Members, Ottawa Police Services Board
FROM/EXP. Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board
SUBJECT/OBJET GOVERNANCE
AUDIT: BOARD ACTIVITY INDICATORS
AND
TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
RECOMMENDATION
That the Ottawa Police Services Board approve the board activity indicators and training requirements outlined in this report.
BACKGROUND
At the 19 December 2005 meeting, the Ottawa Police Services Board received a report from the City of Ottawa Auditor General, Alain Lalonde, regarding the Governance Audit of the Board. The Audit Report contained 27 separate recommendations for improvement in the governance practices of the Board. At the 16 January 2006 meeting, the Police Services Board approved a comprehensive plan for implementing the Auditor’s recommendations.
This report addresses two of those recommendations, namely:
Recommendation
6.1 – That the Board specify board training requirements
Recommendation
7.2 – That the Board report the results of the performance evaluation* in a
board activity report … (including) information on such things as:
-
number of board meetings held
-
number of community meetings held
-
ceremonial events attended
-
number of Council presentations
-
hours of commitment
-
board training.
(*Performance evaluation for
the board will be addressed in a separate report at the March 27th board
meeting.)
BOARD ACTIVITY INDICATORS
It is proposed that Board staff collect data throughout each year, and that in the first quarter of the following year an annual report on Board Activity and Performance be included on a public agenda. The Auditor General has identified certain indicators that should be included in the report. Using his recommendations as a starting point, the Board’s Policy Committee has met twice to discuss the indicators that it feels will be most useful to track. It is the Committee’s recommendation that the following information be tracked throughout the year for inclusion in the annual Activity and Performance Report:
1. Board and Committee Meetings
This category would record information about the volume of work associated with board and committee meetings on a monthly basis. The Activity Report would contain a chart with the following statistics (see Attachment 1 for example):
· Number of meetings including: all board meetings (public and in camera), and meetings of board committees (Budget Committee, Complaints Committee, Human Resources Committee and Policy Committee) and other committees on which board members serve (Citizens Advisory Committee on Performance Measurement, Community Awards Selection Committee, Police Scholarship & Charitable Fund Board of Trustees, Policy Committee, Task Force on Homelessness & the Safe Streets Act).
· Hours spent at meetings
· Number of items on agendas (public and in camera)
· Number of pages of agenda material reviewed, including material issued separately.
2. Community
Meetings
In accordance with the Auditor’s recommendations, the number of community meetings will be separated out from other board meetings and will include statistics on:
· Number of meetings
· Hours spent at meetings.
3. Other
Functions & Events
Members of the Police Services Board attend a wide variety of other business functions and ceremonial events outside of board and committee meetings each year, such as: Business Meetings (OAPSB Board of Directors, Big 12 boards, meetings with city or provincial officials); collective bargaining, arbitrations and other labour relations sessions; Ottawa Police Association functions; Senior Officers’ Association functions; media conferences; briefings; Police awards ceremonies; recruit swearing-in ceremonies; and community association meetings and events.
This category would record the following statistical information related to these other events on a monthly basis:
· Number of events
· Hours spent at them.
4. Board Training
A detailed discussion of board training requirements appears in the next section of this report. The information that would appear in the Activity and Performance Report would be:
· A list of training/education sessions attended by the Board as a whole
· A list of training/education sessions attended by each individual board member
· Hours spent in training by Board as a whole and by individual board members.
Ministry required training would be broken out into a separate category. In years when no Ministry training was offered, the report will indicate that. Also, in some years certain training may not apply; for instance, training required for new board members during their first year on the board will not apply in 2006, as no current baord members are in their first year. These exceptions will be indicated in the Activity Report.
BOARD TRAINING
REQUIREMENTS
The Auditor General’s report emphasized the importance of board member orientation and training as essential elements of good governance. To assist the Ottawa Police Board in ensuring its members make the commitment to ongoing learning, the Auditor General has recommended that the Board specify training requirements for its members, and report annually and publicly on training for the board as a whole and individual members.
The Auditor’s recommendation is well supported by existing provisions in both the Police Services Act of Ontario and the Board’s own Policy Manual. For instance, section 31.5 of the Police Services Act stipulates that, “The board shall ensure that its members undergo any training that the Solicitor General may provide or require.” This requirement is repeated in the Board’s own Policy Manual, in section 1.9.1(a)(i).
The Board’s Policy Manual contains a number of additional statements that demonstrate its commitment to, and recognition of the importance of, ongoing education and training. The Board’s budget supports this commitment by annually including funds for attendance at conferences and other learning opportunities. The following statements referencing the importance of training for new board members as well as ongoing board learning are contained in the Policy Manual:
· Section 1.2.3 – Governance Style – “Ensure the continuity of governance capability through orientation of new members to the Board’s governance process.”
· Section 1.3.1(f)(iii) – Board Job Description – that the Board “actively build relationships with other police services board members at the provincial and national levels by being represented by at least one (1) board member at:
(1) both the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards (OAPSB) and the Canadian Association of Police Boards (CAPB) annual conferences.
(2) regular Zone meetings of the OAPSB (Zone 2).
(3) Regular meetings of the twelve largest (“Big 12”) police services boards in Ontario.”
· Section 1.6.2 – Annual Board Planning Cycle – “Education, input and deliberation will receive paramount attention in structuring the series of meetings and other Board activities during the year. To the extent feasible, the Board will identify those areas of education and input needed to increase the level of wisdom and forethought it can give to subsequent choices.”
· Section 1.9.1 – Cost of Governance – “Board skills, methods and supports will be sufficient to assure governing with excellence.
a) Training and retraining will be used to orient new members as well as to maintain and increase existing member skills and understandings.
i) All Board members will undergo any training that the Solicitor General may provide or require.”
To respond to the Auditor General’s recommendations, it is proposed that the following requirements for Board training be incorporated into appropriate sections of the Board’s policy manual for implementation beginning with this fiscal year (2006):
Individual Member Training
1. In his or her first year of appointment, each member of the Ottawa Police Services Board is required to attend:
· Any orientation sessions for new members provided by the Chief of Police and Board Executive Director
· Any training sessions offered for new board members by the Provincial Ministry for Community Safety & Correctional Services.
If the Ministry offers no training in the year being reported on, the
Activity Report will state that.
Similarly, if there are no members serving their first year on the board
in the year being reported on, the report will indicate that this requirement
is not applicable for that year.
2. Within the first three years of being appointed to the Board, each member is required to attend the annual conferences of both of the following organizations at least once:
· Ontario Association of Police Services Boards (OAPSB) Annual Conference, and
· Canadian Association of Police Boards (CAPB) Annual Conference.
3. The Board shall be represented by at least one member at each of the following:
· meetings of OAPSB Zone 2 boards;
· annual CAPB conferences;
· annual OAPSB conferences;
· meetings of Ontario large boards (“Big 12”).
4. Having satisfied the requirements set out in #1, #2 and #3 above, and provided sufficient funds remain in the annual budget, board members are encouraged to attend other conferences, seminars, workshops and forums related to governance or policing such as those offered by (but not limited to):
- the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
- the Canadian Police College (CPC)
- the Police Association of Ontario (PAO)
- the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP)
- the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP)
- the Canadian Professional Police Association (CPPA)
- the Canadian Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (CACOLE)
- other miscellaneous organizations.
Board Training as a Whole
The Policy Committee recommends that at least once a year, the Board invite a guest speaker to make a presentation on an issue pertinent to board governance, board responsibilities or emerging trends in policing. It is proposed that these sessions be scheduled to take place at the beginning of Board meetings and that they be no more than one hour in length. To start, one or two guest speakers could be invited in 2006, with a goal of perhaps expanding to a quarterly speakers’ series in subsequent years. Emphasis will be placed on selecting topics of a strategic or policy nature, and consideration can also be given to selecting topics linked to OPS strategic issues or the Business Plan when appropriate.
The details surrounding the format, frequency and topic selection will be finalized at a later date if the Board adopts this proposal.
Examples of presentation topics might include:
- good governance practices
- labour relations / collective bargaining
- risk assessment / mitigation
- emergency preparedness
- cyber crime
- current high profile issues related to police governance.
If approved by the Board, the training requirements outlined above will take effect beginning in 2006.
CONSULTATION
Research was conducted to collect samples of activity reports prepared by other large police services boards. Two police services boards were found to have activity reports: the Peel Regional and Niagara Regional Police Services Boards. Consultation took place with staff from both boards. Following the data collection and research stage, material was presented to the Board’s Policy Committee, which held two meetings to discuss and fine-tune the recommendations outlined in this report.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
As discussed earlier in the report, the commitment to orientation and continual learning articulated in the Board’s Policy Manual has been reinforced by the Auditor General’s recommendations to establish training requirements for the Board and Board members, and to report publicly on training activities on an annual basis. With this renewed emphasis on board training and education, it is expected that demand for attendance at related conferences and workshops will increase.
There is currently $16,000 budgeted for board members and staff to attend conferences and other learning sessions in 2006. It will be necessary to monitor Board spending on educational opportunities throughout 2006 to determine whether additional funds need to be added to the budget for 2007.
It is also possible that some of the guest speakers invited to make presentations to the Board as part of the training for Board members as a whole will require speakers’ fees.
CONCLUSION
This report addresses two of the recommendations from the City of Ottawa Auditor General’s report on the Board’s governance practices: setting indicators to assess board activity; and determining requirements for board training, both for individual board members and the board as a whole.
As evidenced by the Board’s existing Policy Manual, the Ottawa Police Services Board has always recognized the importance of continual education and training, and welcomes the Auditor’s suggestions for reinforcing that commitment. Upon approval of this report by the Board, data on Board activity and training will be collected throughout 2006 for inclusion in an annual Activity and Performance report to be presented in the first quarter of 2007.
Wendy Fedec
Attach. (1)