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REPORT RAPPORT |
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REPORT RAPPORT |
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DATE:
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17 January 2012 |
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TO/DEST:
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Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board |
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FROM/DE:
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Chief of Police, Ottawa Police Service |
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SUBJECT/OBJET:
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CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS DIRECTORATE ENHANCEMENT PROJECT - UPDATE |
That the Ottawa Police Services Board receive this report for information.
The Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) Enhancement Project (the Project) was initiated in May 2009 with a two day facilitated workshop involving 85 internal stakeholders from all sections and directorates, and representation from the local Crown Attorney’s Office. The purpose of the workshop was to gather information from a broad spectrum of participants regarding the challenges faced by investigators and the investigative process. Fifteen actionable areas were identified and a project Charter was developed. Supported initially by the Executive Sponsorship of Deputy Chief Sue O’Sullivan, and later by Deputy Chief Gilles Larochelle, the Project performed a thorough review of CID operations.
The Project was conducted in accordance with the following guiding principles:
- Change initiatives must support the goals and objectives in the 2010-2012 Business Plan
- Supervision within CID needs to be structured and supported to ensure that Sergeants are responsible for the risk assessment, assignment, and monitoring of investigations, while
providing guidance, feedback, and direct investigative assistance where necessary
- Form follows function, meaning that sections benefit from physical co-location where possible and functional alignment within the directorate organizational structure
- Community safety and victim focused response capabilities must be enhanced
- Seize on opportunities to build future investigative capacity.
The review consisted of a workload and workflow analysis using the Records Management System, numerous interviews, and file complexity assessments. The Project sought to bring about enhancements in three key areas:
1. Services to victims of crime
2. Supervision and management practices within CID
3. Reinforcement of investigative processes.
Budgetary pressures contained in the 2011 Operating and Capital Budgets removed the option of adding to the complement to bring about enhancements. Improvements had to be prioritized with the scope of recommendations limited to the redeployment of personnel, the restructuring of sections and units, and the civilianization of sworn positions where feasible.
This Update Report contains a brief outline of the Project approach, followed by a high level summary of all the key elements reviewed. This Update Report presents only key findings and recommendations from the comprehensive review. All recommendations presented have been approved by Chief White. Most of the recommendations have been implemented. Status details are included where appropriate.
A complete report documenting the detailed findings and outcomes of the CID Enhancement Project will be completed by the end of January 2012.
The overarching goal of the Project was to ensure that CID investigations are executed by appropriately resourced, highly skilled, flexible, and adaptable teams, operating within clear mandates. The Directorate must be responsive to client and community needs while remaining agile and alive to current and future trends. CID operations must also be aligned with OPS 2010 – 2012 Business Plan goals and objectives. Lastly, the Project tried to further improve both internal and external client satisfaction as well as the quality of work life for CID and OPS employees. The range of improvement options available to the Project was limited by budgetary pressures to include redeployment within the Directorate, restructuring, and the realignment of workload.
Following a two day facilitated workshop, fifteen action plans were identified and a project charter was developed. Several action plans overlapped with other existing projects such as E-disclosure (electronic disclosure to reduce paper transactions). In recognition of the significant work already undertaken by the other project teams, the Project assumed an active liaison role to ensure work being done in the other projects complemented CID.
To provide the most thorough and robust review possible, the Project took the following steps for each major element of the review:
The need to provide increased support to investigators was substantiated by three independent research efforts. First was the comprehensive study by Dr. Plecas that reviewed many aspects of policing within the Canadian context. What was discovered, and is currently widely reported, is that reported crime is on the decline. What fails to be accounted for is the significant increase in administrative and processing workload due to court decisions and legislative requirements. Dr. Plecas reported that in the last ten years processing an impaired driving charge has experienced a workload increase of 250%. Partner assault legislative requirements have added an over 800% increase to workload per file. All investigations have been affected to some degree. Judicial requirements have put significant strain on the individual investigator and a Police Service’s ability to respond in an efficient manner. In summary, simply reviewing reported crime statistics is a poor indicator of workload and expectations.
Second, internal workload analysis of individual sections revealed that all sections within CID are providing excellent service to the community given the resources allotted. There was a clear difference in ability to meet mandates between sections that are strictly reactionary in nature (investigations take place in response to a reported event such as Partner Assault and Sexual Assault and Child Abuse) and those sections that are predominantly proactive in nature (Drugs, Guns and Gangs). The ability to prioritize investigations is greater in the proactive sections.
Reactive sections tend to become overwhelmed by an influx of files that require immediate attention to limit further harm to the victim, and to protect the integrity of the investigation. Individual investigators become stressed over which victim receives a priority response over the next. Sections that use sergeants primarily as team leaders, and not as regular investigators (eg. Robberies, Guns and Gangs), tend to fare better in managing priorities and balancing resources. Sections that use sergeants primarily as investigators, and not as supervisors, struggled with prioritizing their workload. A Best Practise Review of comparable police services revealed that sergeants performing a supervisory role, particularly in stressful Crimes Against Persons investigations, is the optimal role.
Third, the Role Overload study conducted by Dr. Linda Duxbury of the Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, and Dr. Christopher Higgins, Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario sought to identify and assess the impact of the many roles fulfilled by employees in a modern work environment. The study was conducted over a 10-month period and included focus groups, a survey, and individual interviews. The survey portion had an 80% participation rate among all criminal investigators and managers in CID and included District Directorate investigators. The findings indicated that investigators throughout CID, particularly those in sections that investigate crimes against the person, are experiencing high levels of role overload. The effects of this overload are manifested in lowered loyalty to the organization, increased use of sick leave, negative means of dealing with overload (alcohol consumption), and an increase in officers “retiring on the job.”
The Role Overload study concluded with a series of recommendations that are contained in the Role Overload Report. The key recommendation requiring immediate action was increased management support. Specifically, the study found that the organization does not do enough to “support the supporters.” Frontline managers are tasked with far too many duties that remove them from what should be their priority task of managing people. Managers are too often unable to prioritize file assignments, perform resource management, mentor, and conduct other people-oriented tasks.
In summation, the results of the research are clear. The increased support required by investigators is best provided by freeing their sergeants from other tasks to perform the role of supervisor. Performing the role of supervisor requires training and support from managers. The Project generated the following outcomes to address the need for increased support.
Key Outcomes:
1. Units that had no direct reporting relationship to a supervisor were restructured to achieve a proper chain of command. The Elder Abuse Unit, Dangerous Offender Unit, and High Risk Release Unit (monitors serial offenders in the community) have been assigned a Sergeant that can offer support and assist in obtaining identified needs.
2. Sergeants will not be routinely used as part of the investigative assignment pool. Sergeants will only be assigned as lead investigators in exceptional cases or as prescribed by policy (not applicable to Major Crime).
3. The practice of using dedicated “Administrative Sergeants” or “Case Managers” in a CID Section will end. All Sergeants should be responsible for the case management function including: victim risk assessment, solvability factor assessment, file prioritization, and case assignments to their team members. Staff Sergeants should be held accountable for the implementation and support of the new supervisory role for Sergeants in sections under their command.
4. The OPS is currently reviewing training procedures for managers in the area of leadership, interpersonal skills, and supervisory expectations.
The following section details changes made to organizational structure in order to increase supervisory support and create efficiencies by aligning closely functioning work groups under the same command structure.
Key Recommendations:
1. The Guns and Gangs Section be relocated under the command structure of Special Operations and the Surveillance Section relocate under the command structure of Investigative Support.
Rationale: The Guns and Gangs Section continues to pursue active gang investigations and gather intelligence related to drug enforcement. Specifically, crack cocaine and street trafficking are the primary income generating crimes conducted by gangs in Ottawa. There are operational and command efficiencies to be achieved by aligning this Section under the Special Operations Inspector who also oversees the Drugs and Intelligence Sections. Although the Surveillance Section plays an active support role in much of the work done by Drugs and Intelligence, it also provides an investigative support function to the entire organization. In fact the two main clients for Surveillance are the Robbery Section and the Break and Enter Units in East, West and Central Districts. Alignment of Surveillance under the Investigative Support Inspector places the Section alongside other support areas including Forensic Identification, Property and Enterprise Crime, and a new Section called High Risk Offender Management (Recommendation #3).
(Implemented May 2011 (Surveillance) and October 2011 (Guns and Gangs))
2. The current duties of the Administrative/Case Management Staff Sergeant in Investigative Support will be divided, with overall staffing and related administrative duties for the Directorate becoming the responsibility of a new Staffing Officer at the rank of Staff Sergeant. Operational duties associated with the former position will be either relocated or assigned to the new High Risk Offender Management (HROM) Staff Sergeant position. Funding for the new Staffing Officer will come from redeployment.
Rationale: The need for the Administrative/Case Management Staff Sergeant position was originally conceived during the CIS 2000 Review. The purpose of the position was to oversee staffing and administrative functions for Criminal Investigative Services. Over time, additional operational responsibilities were added to the position to the point where effective staffing, career and succession planning, and training needs identification and planning, has become problematic. Staffing Officer positions created in the Patrol and District Directorates during the Strategic Deployment Review have proven to be very effective.
(Implemented May 2011)
3. A new High Risk Offender Management (HROM) Section managed by a Staff Sergeant be created under the command of the Investigative Support Inspector. Funding for this new Staff Sergeant position will come from redeployment. The new Section will include three Units, each supervised by a Sergeant. The new Section will be composed of a new Missing Persons Unit (Recommendation #4), the MCM/Powercase/ViClas Unit (Recommendation #5), and a new High Risk Offender Management Unit (Recommendation #6). Units reporting to the former Administrative/Case Management Staff Sergeant, namely Harassing Phone Calls and Crime Stoppers, will be redeployed to other Directorates (Recommendations #7and #8 respectively). The High Tech Crime/Internet Child Exploitation Unit will be redeployed within CID (Recommendation #9). The Mental Health Crisis Unit (MHCU) / Adult Missing Persons will be restructured and moved to the HROM Section where MHCU will form the core of the new HROM Unit (Recommendation #6).
Rationale: Offender management presents police services with resource intensive operational challenges. Statutory release, NCR, and “Intense Supervision” stream offenders expose the community to safety risks that must be mitigated through prioritized proactive vigilance. The responsibility on the part of the police to conduct ongoing monitoring and release condition compliance checks was highlighted in the CIS 2000 Review. The importance of this work has been reaffirmed in the OPS 2010 – 2012 Business Plan. Establishing a new Section focused on offender management will meet the objectives of the Plan. Dedicated offender management units were noted in other police services during current practice reviews. This recommendation builds on the work of the Strategic Deployment Review.
(Implemented May 2011)
4. A new Missing Persons Unit be created within the HROM Section composed of a Sergeant and two constable investigators. The Sergeant position will be provided by redeployment within CID. The two constable positions will be staffed by redeploying two current Missing Youth investigators from the District Directorate. The new Missing Persons Unit will investigate all missing persons regardless of age.
Rationale: Missing person investigations present an investigative risk to a police service. Prior to the implementation of this recommendation, adult missing person (16 years of age and older) investigations are the primary duty of the Missing Persons Sergeant. Constables in the Mental Health Crisis Unit are not assigned missing person files but rather engage ad hoc in investigations as a secondary duty. Youth missing person (under 16 years of age and wards of CAS up to 18 years of age) investigations are conducted by the Youth Section investigators. These investigators also balance intervention and diversion workflow and other assigned duties. The creation of a dedicated missing person investigative unit will streamline the risk assessment and workflow assignment of missing person files. Strong ties with local area group homes for youth will be maintained. Overall file assignment will average approximately 30 cases per investigator per month, with nearly 50% of assigned files representing repeat or frequent runaway youth.
(Implemented October 2011)
5. The MCM/Powercase and ViClas Units be combined and moved from the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse (SACA) Section to the HROM Section.
Rationale: The MCM/Powercase Unit currently has an informal reporting relationship to the ViClas Sergeant and a direct reporting relationship to the SACA Staff Sergeant. Formally assigning the Unit to the ViClas Sergeant will improve administration and management of the Unit. The new combined Unit will continue to provide investigative support primarily to SACA and Major Crime, with the key function of the Powercase software intended to be the identification of high risk offenders or the linkage to similar occurrences. ViClas performs a like function, using a more dated information platform. The current location of both units in SACA has been administratively challenging as the SACA Staff Sergeant is focused on ongoing investigations. Placing the new combined Unit under the HROM Staff Sergeant will provide for increased administrative and operational support.
(Implemented May 2011)
6. A new High Risk Offender Management (HROM) Unit be created within the HROM Section composed of a Sergeant, the High Risk Release constable, the Long Term/Dangerous Offender constable, a new constable position derived from redeployment within CID, and the constables in the current Mental Health Crisis Unit. Creating the new HROM Unit will necessitate the move of the High Risk Release and Long Term/Dangerous Offender constables from SACA to HROM. The HROM Unit will be responsible for the MHCU mandate, high risk releases, long term/dangerous offender applications, the Sexual Offender Registry, and the targeting of high risk individuals for breach of release conditions. The Unit will work collaboratively with the Provincial R.O.P.E. Team (Repeat Offenders Parole Enforcement)
Rationale: As previously noted, offender management presents police services with unique risk and resource challenges. The present reporting relationship of the High Risk Release and Long Term/Dangerous Offender constables directly to the SACA Staff Sergeant has been challenging. Aligning both officers with a dedicated Sergeant in the new Unit will increase administrative and operational support. The job description for the new constable position will be inclusive enough to provide support to both officers, thereby adding capacity and reducing single points of failure. The creation of the Missing Persons Unit will free the Mental Health Crisis Unit constables from the responsibility of missing adult reports and allow them to support the new HROM Unit in the monitoring of persons of interest. This shift in responsibility will significantly increase our capacity to proactively target and monitor these individuals for compliance with the conditions under 810.1 / 810.2 CCC or other court imposed orders. The administration of the Sexual Offender Registry by the HROM Unit will free the SACA administrative assistant to perform other duties and is in keeping with the findings of a recent operational site visit conducted by the Ontario Sexual Offender Registry.
(Implemented May 2011)
7. The dedicated Harassing Phone Call investigator position be eliminated and redeployed within CID. Responsibility for conducting harassing phone call investigations will shift to District Case Managers for risk assessment and assignment.
Rationale: The Harassing Phone Call investigator reports directly to the Administrative/Case Management Staff Sergeant and currently receives approximately 300 file assignments per year. The largely summary conviction investigations result in fewer than 10 criminal charges being laid per year. The majority of cases result in call backs, information, consultation or warnings. Any threats or other more serious offences are currently re-routed for assignment to a District Investigator (DI). This model of dealing with harassing phone calls was unique and not found elsewhere when current practice research was conducted. This recommendation will shift the call back portion of the workload to the District Case Managers for assignment to District personnel depending on risk assessment.
(Implemented October 2011)
8. The Crime Stoppers Unit consisting of a Sergeant and clerk be moved from the Administrative/Case Management Staff Sergeant to Community Development and Corporate Communications.
Rationale: The Crime Stoppers program has proven itself to be a highly successful communication tool, eliciting the support of the community in crime enforcement and prevention. The 2008 Public Survey of Policing Services conducted by Compass Research quantified the public’s positive opinion of the program. The operational and professional support available in Community Development and Corporate Communications will significantly enhance the effectiveness of the program as it ventures into new ways of connecting with the public, including through the use of social media. Best Practise review indicated that OPS is the only service in Ontario where this program is not associated with the community development branch of the police service.
(Implementation pending)
9. The High Tech Crime (HTC) / Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit be moved from the Administrative/Case Management Staff Sergeant. Further that the Unit be separated into HTC and ICE and that each new Unit be provided with a dedicated Sergeant supervisor (Re-deployment Recommendation #7). The HTC Unit will be placed under the command of the Forensic Identification Section and the ICE Unit will be moved to SACA.
Rationale: The HTC Unit has a mandate to provide forensic data analysis, expert technical assistance, and prepare and execute search warrants for investigators across the Service. Moving the Unit to the Forensic Identification Section will better position the group to provide this support and align members of the Unit with others in the forensic field. The ICE Unit conducts investigations into the most heinous of crimes involving the community’s most vulnerable victims – our children. Dedicating a Sergeant to the ICE Unit will ensure proper monitoring and oversight for the officers who conduct investigations of these deeply disturbing crimes. Moving ICE to SACA will align members of the Unit with others dedicated to the investigation of child offenders. Despite working in different Sections, HTC will continue to assist ICE as needed on warrants. The provincially funded HTC position will continue to be dedicated to ICE investigations, in compliance with the existing MOU. The recommended alignments for HTC and ICE are consistent with structural arrangements in other Services.
(Implemented May 2011)
10. An Investigative Training Sergeant position be created at the Professional Development Centre (PDC) to address investigative-based training needs for the organization. The position will be funded by the redeployment of personnel within CID.
Rationale: The Service continues to experience a very high turnover of staff. One of the stresses identified during consultation with stakeholders was the arrival of a new candidate in a section who has not yet had basic investigative courses. To alleviate this all too frequent occurrence, the new Investigative Training Sergeant will add capacity to PDC. At present, several Ontario Police College investigative courses are held at PDC including General Investigative Techniques, Major Case Management, and Search Warrants. The new Sergeant position will allow PDC to pursue permission to also teach the OPC Investigative Interviewing course, effectively eliminating the need for OPS members to travel outside Ottawa for basic investigative courses. Increasing the number of in-house course opportunities will allow the Service to become proactive with training needs in advance of transfers. The new Staffing Officer for CID will be key to identifying and co-ordinating training needs on behalf of the Directorate.
(Implemented May 2011)
11. That the Hate Crime Unit consisting of a Sergeant and constable reporting to the SACA Staff Sergeant be moved to the Intelligence Section. The Sergeant position will be redeployed within CID. The constable position will report to the National Capital Region (NCR) Security Sergeant. Responsibility for conducting Hate Crime investigations assessed as ad hoc or random in nature will shift to District Case Managers for initial assessment and assignment. Risk assessment of individual cases will remain with the Hate Crime constable who will be notified of all occurrences. The new NCR – Hate Crime position will retain responsibility for the investigation of organized or incitement files.
Rationale: Several years ago, the Hate Crime Unit was removed from the Intelligence Section and placed in SACA as part of CID realignment. The realignment proved to be problematic with challenges that included the inability to share database intelligence between Intelligence and Hate Crime, and the administrative and operational support needs that were designed to be satisfied by the SACA Staff Sergeant. The current practice review of other police services revealed that all other Hate Crime investigators in Ontario are aligned within their respective Criminal Intelligence sections. The shift of ad hoc or random acts of hate crime to the District Case Managers for assignment amounts to approximately 20 files per year city wide. This shift is key as it frees the NCR – Hate Crime constable to focus on the development and maintenance of intelligence based information gathering relationships.
(Implemented May 2011)
Redeployment recommendations went through several iterations in an effort to deal with identified gaps and overlaps in investigations. The inability to seek additional personnel due to budget pressures in the 2011 Draft forced reconsideration of earlier recommendations. Overall, the recommendations that follow were shaped by the guiding principles.
Recommendations:
1. The Major Crime Section complement be reduced by 3 Sergeant positions. The positions will be redeployed within CID. A revised mandate for the Section will be addressed in the final project report.
Rationale: The Major Crime Section is currently composed of two Staff Sergeants, nine Sergeants, and nine constables including the polygraph technician. Over time, the Section has experienced changes to their mandate, most notably the removal of robbery investigations, without a corresponding reduction in resources. Mangers in the Section were careful to point out that the investigative complexity, time commitment, disclosure, and trial preparation expectations have risen dramatically in recent times, making any reduction in resources a challenging exercise. The Dr. Plecas report highlights and quantifies the increased demand for police services in British Columbia. The report findings are broadly applicable to other police services and support the concerns expressed by the Section. With the benefit of some preliminary mandate discussions, Section managers were agreeable with the resource reductions outlined in this recommendation. The redeployment of three Sergeant positions is consistent with the guiding principles of this Report which speak to the need for Sergeants to primarily perform a supervisory function. With the redeployments, 15 investigators (including the polygraph technician) will be responsible for the revised Section mandate. This number of investigators is consistent with other police services with similar average homicide rates. The need for this Section and others to draw on additional investigative capacity during peak demand periods will be addressed as in the past, with shifting of investigative resources from elsewhere as required and directed by the Superintendent or CID as per the Criminal Investigative Management Plan .
(Implemented May 2011)
2. That the Drug Unit complement be reduced by 3 constables and 1 sergeant. The positions will be redeployed within CID. A revised mandate for the Section and others involved in drug enforcement will be addressed in the OPS Drug Summit Report, scheduled for submission to Executive in January 2012.
Rationale: Drug enforcement and the related social consequences continue to challenge communities and police services around the globe. The OPS has increased the number of officers dedicated to drug enforcement over the past five years has more than doubled and yet drug related criminal activity remains seemingly unabated. The demand on modern day drug enforcement is to strike a balance between the proactive pursuit of organized crime and drug distribution, and the public’s opinion of safety and security. Section management has expressed reservations regarding their ability to maintain operational effectiveness with a reduced complement. Viewed in isolation, the redeployment of three investigative constables and a sergeant appears counterproductive to the Drug Unit’s efforts to deliver on their mandate. Drug enforcement however occurs on multiple fronts. From a service wide perspective, there is ample opportunity to work collaboratively with other units and sections to attain the balance sought by the community. To assure balance is achieved, stakeholders involved in drug enforcement investigations have committed to meeting over a series of Summit workshops to discuss an overall drug strategy, inclusive of external partner agencies. The four redeployed positions will be assigned to Sections within CID in accordance with the guiding principle of enhancing our victim focused response and community safety. The Drug Unit remains the largest specialty section within OPS.
(Implemented December 2011)
3. The vacant constable position currently held in the Surveillance Section be immediately redeployed to an investigative Section within CID. Further that the Surveillance Co-ordinator position be civilianized by assigning one of the Investigative Assistant positions acquired in the SGI process. The freed sworn position will be moved to an investigative section within CID.
Rationale: The current vacant position can be redeployed within CID to provide immediate investigative support to a Section. The recent retirement of the Surveillance Co-ordinator provided an opportunity to re-assess the job description. Using the approved series of questions developed during the Strategic Deployment Project, it was determined that a civilian member can be trained to fulfill the duties of this position. Substantive duties for this position include: transcribing surveillance notes, fulfilling disclosure requests, receiving and organizing surveillance request packages, maintaining a statistical database, and storage of photographic evidence.
(Implemented May 2011)
4. The Guns and Gangs Section be reduced by one constable position.
Rationale: The Guns and Gangs Section complement consists of one Staff Sergeant, two Sergeants, and nine constables. The Section is organized into two Sergeant led teams, with one team having an extra position. In consultation with Section management, it was agreed that the work capacity of both teams is roughly equal. Certainly the extra member provides for more even staffing levels throughout the year, however Section management noted that workload is roughly comprised of 50% proactive and 50% reactive investigations. The workload split provides the Section with some flexibility to align investigative activity with staffing levels. Securing funding and fully staffing the DART team positions will help support the loss of this position in the short term.
(Implemented October 2011)
5. One constable position in the Mental Health Crisis Unit be redeployed to a High Risk Offender Management (HROM) position.
Rationale: The addition of a third position in the new HROM Unit is required in order to add capacity and eliminate two current single points of failure. The operations of MHCU are guided in part by an existing MOU with the Ottawa Hospital. The operational parameters contained in the MOU are currently under review as the Unit tries to better align hours of work with service demand. The recommendation to move one position from MHCU is meant to enhance overall high risk offender management, including the monitoring of NCR (Not Criminally Responsible) status individuals who are of specific concern to the Hospital. The implementation of this recommendation will need to be carefully considered in collaboration with the Ottawa Hospital in order to prevent breaching obligations contained in the MOU.
(Implemented October 2011)
6. The Sexual Assault and Child Abuse (SACA) Section be reduced by one sergeant. Further that Section complement is increased by two constable positions. The sergeant position will be reassigned to the Internet Child Exploitation Unit.
Rationale: The recent retirement of a Sergeant in SACA provided the opportunity to review the Section complement. One of the guiding principles of this Report emphasises the need for Sergeants in CID to be supervisors first, and investigators second. The service demands on this Section are significant. Investigators are routinely forced to prioritize files for investigation while conducting 12 to 17 concurrent investigations. Current practice reviews of other Services in Ontario with comparable workload revealed on average nearly twice as many investigators assigned to SACA in comparison to OPS. The redeployment of two constable investigators will bring some relief to this situation, while the complement of Sergeants begin to shift their focus towards the risk assessment, assignment, and monitoring of investigations being conducted by their respective teams of investigators.
(Implemented October 2011)
7. The Victim Witness Assistance Program (VWAP) constable position within the Partner Assault Section be civilianized with an Investigative Assistant position acquired in the SGI process. The freed constable position will be redeployed to Partner Assault as an investigator. Further that Partner Assault complement is increased by the redeployment of two additional constable positions.
Rationale: The job description for the VWAP constable position was reviewed and determined to be non-investigative and administrative in nature. A civilian member can be trained to fulfill the duties of this position. Consultation with the Crown’s Office resulted in support for this recommendation with the proviso that a sworn member should continue to attend the weekly Partner Assault Screening Team (PAST) high risk case conference.
Workload analysis of assigned cases and court attendance data clearly identified the Partner Assault Section as carrying the highest workload of any section in the Service. Unlike other investigative sections, the nature of partner assault incidents make prioritizing the files for later investigation extremely problematic. A large percentage of the investigations commence with a suspect already in custody and the consequential pressure to meet custodial release timelines. A high percentage of partner assault suspects are released via Show Cause, adding additional procedural steps. A current practice review of comparable Services in Ontario revealed file assignments averaging below 10 per month compared to OPS current average monthly assignments of 18 files per investigator. The addition of three constable investigators, in combination with adjustments to Section scheduling and a shift toward Sergeants performing primarily a supervisory function, will provide some limited relief. Recommendations for further process changes were made and a working group has been formed to further examine the issues.
(Implemented December 2011. Working group ongoing.)
8. The Criminal Extremism temporary position within the Intelligence Section be made permanent and staffed with a sworn position made available by redeployment. The position will be titled NCR Security – Extremism and will report to the NCR Security Sergeant.
Rationale: The Extremism temporary position was originally created to close a gap in the acquisition and analysis of intelligence information. The position played a substantial role in the solving of the Royal Bank bombing case, just prior to the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Positioning the new permanent position alongside the NCR Security – Hate Crime position, with both positions reporting to the NCR Security Sergeant will create a supportive proactive intelligence triangle that will facilitate cross-training. The new Unit will be an active intelligence source for OPS and our external partners, a fundamental capability for a G8 capital city.
(Implemented May 2011)
9. The Forensic Identification Section be increased by one sergeant position, acquired through the redeployment of sworn positions.
Rationale: The Forensic Identification Section sworn complement consists of one Staff Sergeant, six Sergeants, and 18 constables. The 1:3 ratio of sergeants to constables reflects the complex and highly technical nature of the work conducted in the section. Recent changes to provincial training standards, most notably the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (MCSC) Core Competencies for Forensic Identification Officers and MCSC Ministry Accredited Training Standards for Forensic Identification Officers have added the burden of ensuring continuous learning plans and accreditation. Co-ordinating the training opportunities needed to consistently meet or exceed minimal standards comes at the cost of reduced supervision and operational capacity. Additional training and oversight for the Scenes of Crime (SOCO) program is also challenging the Section. The new Sergeant position will provide some relief to the internal and external training demands faced by the Section.
(Implemented May 2011)
10. The Special Operations Section be increased by 1 full surveillance team (6 constables and 1 Sergeant). Funding for the Sergeant position will be obtained through redeployment.
Rationale: The need for a third surveillance team was studied and presented as an option that could only be achieved with a creative staffing solution. After due consideration, Chief White ordered the formation of the team and the swapping of six Strategic Growth Initiative civilian Investigative Assistant positions with sworn positions located elsewhere in the organization. The growth of the city and needs of the organization have increased beyond the capacity of two full time teams. As such, the section was unable to conduct proactive surveillance and in times of need, other sections with surveillance training such as Drug Unit and Criminal Intelligence would have to curtail their duties to fill in where needed.
(Implemented May 2011)
11. The Asset Forfeiture complement be increased by one position acquired through redeployment.
Rationale: Aggressive legislation in Ontario allows for the restraint of property used in the commission of a criminal offence. The legislation is punitive in nature, and is designed to send the message to offenders that crime does not pay. The Project conducted a review of workload being conducted by the one current Asset Forfeiture investigator and found it to be completely overwhelming. Present capacity allows for only drug offence investigations to be supported by restraint procedures. The addition of a second position will provide some relief and allow for the restraint of property used in the commission of other crimes.
(To be finalized January 2012)
Future Initiatives
The CID Enhancement Project noted the potential for change in several other areas of operations that would ultimately improve investigations. These other operational areas were outside the scope of the project. For the benefit of future operational review projects, the following opportunities are highlighted:
1. Call Path and Call Management:
Contained within the goals and objectives for Reducing, Investigating and Preventing Crime (2010-2012 Business Plan) is objective 5.1, which states “increase the amount of officers’ proactive patrol time”. The Project reached the conclusion that reviewing Call Path and Call Management protocols could achieve this objective and have a spillover benefit for investigations. At the present time, Communications Centre staff have limited options to prioritize service calls for response. As a result, patrol officers are often required to “run from call to call” to keep pace with dispatched calls for service. Updated call management principles and protocols would provide officers with more autonomy to manage their tasks. Better managed time would result in more proactive time and also the flexibility to invest more time when investigating reports of crime.
All successful investigations start with the responding officer. The literature clearly indicates that solvability factors are dependent upon an initial thorough investigation by the first responder. A well written report provides a good start to an investigator who can advance the file along to a successful conclusion, and supports the work of the Crown’s Office when a file reaches court. Responding officers who have time to conduct more thorough initial investigations are also honing skills that are useful throughout their careers, and are providing a better service to the community.
2. Centralized Case Management:
The last review of Criminal Investigations was conducted in 2000. Recommendation #4 in the CIS 2000 Report proposed the creation of “a 24/7 case management system for CIS to coordinate investigations across divisions and to maintain links with the districts”. A centralized team was envisioned that would triage all files considering solvability factors, highlight priorities, and disseminate to appropriate Sections as needed. This recommendation was accepted in principle by the Executive of the day but not implemented due to staffing shortages.
Sections in CID adapted by assigning sergeants within sections to a case management function. This solution had several shortcomings. First, section case managers focused on investigations within their work group and not across the organization. Second, the ability to employ an intelligence-led approach to investigations was compromised by an inability to network on a daily basis with Crime Analysts. And finally, sergeants focused on the case management function led to a decrease in the amount of supervisory support available to investigators
The Project concluded that improvements to case management can still be achieved with the implementation of the CIS 2000 recommendation. The success experienced by the District Case Managers could be leveraged to bring about benefits across the Service. Resources would need to be redeployed and some functional re-alignments would be required.
3. Investigative Assistants:
The concept of Investigative Assistants (IA) was brought forward by the Project as a means of providing support to Sections with heavy case loads. The RCMP at ‘A’ Division were the first to employ specialized investigative assistants as a cost effective means of providing support to investigators. The IA’s were tasked with providing disclosure documents, assisting with workflow, and participating in victim and witness management. OPS Executive supported the concept of IA’s and initially had funding identified for six permanent fulltime positions. Budget pressures and operational needs unfortunately required the positions to be reallocated. The Project maintains the recommendation to staff this important support function as soon as budget pressures permit.
4. Re-Alignment of District Investigators into CID:
Prior to amalgamation, the general investigative needs of the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police were conducted by a centralized pool of investigators in the Criminal Investigate Services Division known as the General Assignment Section (GAS). The GAS mandate was to investigate all crimes that did not fit within the mandate of specialized investigative sections, and to provide support to these specialized sections when required. The inclusion of GAS within the CIS Division provided the Division with the ability to easily shift resources based on investigative priorities. A quick review of current practises revealed that this arrangement is still utilized by most Police Services in Ontario.
At amalgamation, the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police moved to a District model of policing that involved decentralizing the GAS investigators into work spaces in East, West, and Central Districts. The investigator job titles were changed to District Investigators (DIs). The reorganization has created silos of investigative assets across geographical lines and produces internal competition between the District Directorate and CID for investigative courses and skilled investigators. The fluid movement of DIs into CID to support the specialized investigative sections has at times been challenging.
During extensive consultation with members on other investigative issues, the Project invariably heard broad based interest in examining the return of District Investigators to CID. Cost benefits may be achieved by realigning all 50 investigators onto a single schedule and streamlining the command structure.
5. Supervision/Management Training and Development:
The Project has had the opportunity to rigorously explore the inner workings of the Criminal Investigations Directorate. A wide range of knowledge, skills, and abilities have been identified as essential at the tactical end of the operational continuum. As all members rise in rank and position and move along the continuum, interpersonal skills increase in importance. The Project strongly endorses the need to develop training and development and performance management strategies, as identified in the 2010-2012 Business Plan, to bring about improvements in supervision and management practices.
The overarching goal of the CID Enhancement Project was to ensure that CID investigations are executed by appropriately resourced, highly skilled, flexible, and adaptable teams, operating within clear mandates. The Project also tried to further improve both internal and external client satisfaction as well as the quality of work life for CID and OPS employees. All recommendations brought forward to the Chief for approval were aligned with OPS 2010 – 2012 Business Plan and grounded in the guiding principles.
(Original signed by)
Vern White
Chief of Police
Appendix 1: Restructured CID Org Chart with New Deployment
Appendix 2: Redeployment
Chart 1 – Positions Approved for Redeployment
|
Section |
Position |
Position # |
Position Moved by |
|
Major Crime |
Sergeant |
10008490 |
Promotion |
|
|
Sergeant |
10008494 |
Transfer |
|
|
Sergeant |
10008587 |
Retirement |
|
Drugs |
Constable |
10068182 |
Transfer |
|
|
Constable |
10008360 |
Redeployed to Asset Forfeiture |
|
|
Constable |
10008362 |
Redeployed to Partner Assault |
|
|
Sergeant |
10008700 |
Tenure out – fall 2011 |
|
Surveillance |
Constable |
10007355 |
Vacant |
|
|
Co-ordinator |
10007361 |
Civilianization of position (IA-1) |
|
Hate Crime |
Constable |
10007647 |
Redeployed to Intelligence |
|
|
Sergeant |
10008450 |
Retirement |
|
Guns and Gangs |
Constable |
10064825 |
Promotion |
|
Harassing Phone Calls |
Constable |
10008174 |
Retirement |
|
Missing Person/Mental Health |
Constable |
10008064 |
Tenure out – fall 2011 |
|
SACA |
Sergeant |
10008398 |
Retirement |
|
Partner – VWAP |
Constable |
10007518 |
Civilianization of position (IA-2) |
|
Pilot |
Constable |
10007646 |
Civilianization of position (IA-3) |
|
SGI Positions (4) |
Civilian |
|
Convert to Sworn for Surveillance Team (IA-4,5,6) + (Admin Assistant) |
|
Total Positions |
21 |
|
|
Chart 2 – New Sworn Positions
|
New Positions |
Number of New Positions |
|
Staffing Officer S/Sgt |
1 |
|
Training Sgt – PDC |
1 |
|
Partner Assault Cst |
3 |
|
NCR Security – Hate Crimes Cst |
1 |
|
NCR Security – Extremism Cst |
1 |
|
High Risk Offender Mgmt Sgt |
1 |
|
Asset Forfeiture Cst |
1 |
|
High Risk Offender Mgmt Cst |
1 |
|
ICE Sgt |
1 |
|
SACA Cst |
2 |
|
Forensic Ident Sgt |
1 |
|
Surveillance Team 3 (1 Sgt+6 Cst) |
7 |
|
Total |
21 |
