OTTAWA POLICE SERVICES BOARD COMMISSION DE SERVICES POLICIERS D’OTTAWA
	Working together for a safer community La sécurité de notre communauté, un travail d’équipe	REPORT RAPPORT

DATE                              12 January 2011

TO/DEST.                        Ottawa Police Services Board

FROM/EXP.                    Policy and Governance Committee

SUBJECT/OBJET           OTTAWA POLICE SERVICES BOARD WORK PLAN - 2011

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

That the Ottawa Police Services Board approve the 2011 Work Plan for the Board.

BACKGROUND

The Ottawa Police Services Board’s Policy #GA-5 – Board Planning and Performance, stipulates that the Board will follow an annual planning cycle that includes establishing a yearly work plan for the Board and its four committees. 

Annex A contains a 2011 work plan for the Ottawa Police Services Board prepared by the Policy and Governance Committee and submitted for the Board’s approval.  It incorporates the Board’s legislative responsibilities as well as a number of initiatives identified by the Committee after a review of the Board’s performance and achievements in 2010, particularly with regard to community engagement, and education about the Board’s role. 

DISCUSSION

The majority of tasks included in the work plan are routine duties that must be performed by the Board each year to meet its legislated monitoring and oversight responsibilities.  There are also requirements each year for new Board policies as well as review of existing policies to ensure they remain current.  In addition to these duties, the Board adopted a multi-pronged Community Engagement Strategy in 2008 that requires review and updating each year.  At meetings on 2 December 2010 and 6 January 2011, the Policy & Governance Committee discussed components of the Community Engagement Strategy and recommend the following actions be included in the 2011 work plan:

• Meetings with targeted community partners
  Since 2008 the Board has identified specific community partners with whom it wished to meet informally or work, in order to build a relationship and learn about each other’s roles, challenges and concerns.  These meetings have in the past been delegated to the Committee although all board members were invited to attend.  Examples of external partners the Committee has met with or worked with to deliver a public interest meeting include:  school boards, the Council on Aging of Ottawa, the Lebanese-Arab Social Services Agency (LASSA), Crime Prevention Ottawa, and business improvement associations.  In 2010 these informal meetings were put on hold due to other demands, however, the Committee wishes to place a renewed emphasis on fulfilling this important opportunity to build relationships with key partners in 2011.  It is recommended that these meetings continue to be delegated to the Committee to make scheduling easier, although all Board members are welcome to attend.  The Committee has initially identified the following two partners with whom it would like to meet as a priority with this year: 

1) Community and Police Action Committee (COMPAC)

COMPAC is a community-police advisory and coordinating body representing a partnership between police and visible minority and Aboriginal communities in Ottawa.  Its objective is to nurture and develop this community partnership by means of communication, respect, accountability, and freedom from fear and trust.

2) Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership Council (OLIPC)

       Led by the City of Ottawa and the Local Agencies Serving Immigrants (LASI) and hosted by the Catholic Immigration Centre, the overall goal of this group is to enhance the integration of newcomers, immigrants and refugees to the City of Ottawa through the establishment of an integrated and comprehensive system of services and organizations. 

· Public Interest Meetings

Since 2008 the Board, in collaboration with the OPS and/or community partners, has hosted public interest meetings on topics such as:  Combating Drugs in our Community; Protecting Our Kids; Engaging Communities in the Justice System; Safety for Seniors; Safeguarding Your Identity, an Open Dialogue with LASSA; Youth Mental Health; and Racial Profiling. 

For 2011, the Policy & Governance Committee is recommending that public interest meetings be held on the following topics:  

1) Follow up to first meeting on Racial Profiling Policy

2) Kids, Drugs, Gangs and New Canadians – what parents should be on the look-out for

3) A topic aimed at youth (to be determined) with meeting to be held in a school.

The meetings are tentatively scheduled for April, June and October.  In addition, an information session is being planned for the Somali Community to be co-hosted by the OPS and the Board; a date will be confirmed soon. 

· Presentations on Operational Initiatives at Board Meetings
It is the Committee’s view that short presentations at regular Board meetings by OPS staff on operational initiatives or units provide an opportunity to educate both the public and the Board members about the challenges and successes of the Service.  The Committee recommends that these presentations continue and that they be scheduled as required or at the request of the Chief.

· Education about the Board’s Role

Recent media coverage primarily in relation to the cellblock incidents have revealed a significant lack of understanding by the media and the public about the role of the Board, particularly in relation to matters of public complaints and officer discipline.  The Committee is currently exploring a number of options to address this, including using the meetings mentioned earlier with targeted external partners as an opportunity for education about the Board’s role.  Any new initiatives recommended by the Committee can be added to the work plan as they are identified. 

Other new work to be undertaken in 2011 includes the following:

• Development of a Board policy on Racial Profiling to complement the Police Service’s draft procedure on the same subject. 
• Development of a new policy on Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, which is required to be in place by 2012 under the Province’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. 
• Begin environmental scanning work associated with the development of the 2013-2017 OPS Business Plan in the fourth quarter of 2011.
• Planning for the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards’ 50^th Anniversary Conference, which the Ottawa Police Services Board is hosting in April 2012. 

CONSULTATION

OPS staff have been consulted in the development of the work plan.  One of the Committee’s foremost considerations in developing the work plan was to renew the Board’s commitment to communication and outreach with the public.  There will be opportunities for public consultation and stakeholder input throughout 2011 as part of the Board’s ongoing Public Interest Agenda and other components of the Community Engagement Strategy.  Additional tasks can be added to the work plan throughout the year as new issues and requirements emerge.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

All activities listed in the work plan can be accomplished within the Board’s 2011 draft budget.

CONCLUSION

The Board’s Policy #GA-5 – Board Planning and Performance, stipulates that the Board will follow an annual planning cycle that includes establishing a yearly work plan for the Board.  Approval of the attached work plan will set a course for the Board in 2011 that will fulfill its legislative and oversight responsibilities as well as address priorities identified during a review of the Board’s performance and activities in 2010. 

____________________________________________

Submitted by the Policy & Governance Committee:

Jim MacEwen, Chair

Eli El-Chantiry

            Carl Nicholson

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