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REPORT RAPPORT |
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REPORT RAPPORT |
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DATE:
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23 April 2012
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TO/DEST:
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Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board |
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FROM/EXP:
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Chief of Police, Ottawa Police Service |
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SUBJECT/OBJET: |
QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCESS: 2011 ANNUAL REPORT |
RECOMMENDATION
This report is provided to the Police Services Board to meet the Chief’s requirement under Ontario Regulation 3/99, Section 35 of the Adequacy and Effectiveness of Police Services Regulation which provides that:
“Every board and chief of police shall implement a quality assurance process relating to the delivery of adequate and effective police services, and compliance with the Act and its regulations”.
To meet the requirements of Section 35, Adequacy and Effectiveness Regulation 3/99 the Ottawa Police Service quality assurance process includes a section dedicated to continuous consideration of the impact and requirements for process improvements. The Quality Assurance Section (QA) reports to the Office of the Chief Directorate and includes the following mechanisms:
Professional Accountability and Corporate Excellence
PACE is an inter-disciplinary decision making committee that supports Ottawa Police Service operations by ensuring a proactive and coordinated response to risk. The committee meets monthly to review and manage emerging risks that result from Operational Reviews, organizational projects, PSS, SIU and other investigations, internal and external audits and Ministry Inspections and Inquests, Public Inquiries and Judicial Rulings.
PACE provides recommendations for cross-organizational response to changing variables and business processes to provide the efficient delivery of excellent policing services. The committee consists of the Superintendent or Executive Director from each Directorate, and is chaired by the QA Inspector.
The committee’s review of risks prompt a variety of internal control mechanisms including training recommendations, increased supervision, procedure amendment or development, assurance of regulatory compliance and other process improvements. The PACE committee has developed terms of reference to facilitate the prioritization and dissemination of information to the Executive Team.
Risk Management
The Quality Assurance Section has been engaged in a number of risk management initiatives throughout the 2011 calendar year.
In support of the Policy Development Section’s undertaking to create a more formalized framework to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policy amendment and development, a two-phase risk assessment process was created.
Phase I focused on policy prioritization by directorate. Phase II focused on policy prioritization across the organization. The outcome of this risk assessment provided the organization with a list of priority policies to be revised in a timely manner. Policies and procedures ensure members have the most comprehensive procedures that reflect best practice to mitigate risk to the organization.
In addition, the risk monitoring process has been enhanced by senior management and improvements have been made to how risk information is shared internally and responded to.
Directorate Quality Assurance
Directorate Quality Assurance (DQA) is a self-assessment process designed to ensure responsibility and accountability for compliance with Adequacy Standards through the evaluation of critical controls specific to each section. The DQA process includes the collaboration of QA and the individual section and the use of online tools and templates.
DQA has assisted with the enhancement of PACE, Risk and Policy as staffing resources for these positions has changed.
DQA will systematically review every section of the OPS and preparation for the initiation of the program is complete. Templates and resources are ready for the process to begin in Q1 2012.
Policy
During 2011, nineteen policies were received and approved, including revisions for internal processes and new guidelines for the use of new technologies. The Policy Committee sat monthly to oversee policy change proposals and solicited cross-organizational input.
Several new key policies were created including the Racial Profiling policy, Disclosure of Officer Conduct, Front Line Breaching Tools and Public Rewards. The development of a policy-making guide and the reorganization of policy archives were also undertaken. All existing policies were assigned internal content owners and were risk ranked to identify the policy priorities for 2012.
Board Policy CR-9, Section 10
The Board’s Audit Policy CR-9 Section 10 states that:
“On an annual basis, a consolidated report will be provided to the Board presenting an overview of the operations of the Quality Assurance Section, including any external audits that have taken place during the calendar year.”
The Audit Report provided for 2011 included discussion of an external, subject expert evaluation of OPS Evidence Control Section. The findings from this audit were reported to the Chief of Police and recommendations are being implemented.
Planning for the future
As a result of focus groups, the QA section and the Planning, Performance and Analytics (PPA) Section have networked more closely in recent months to ensure that QA processes and PPA initiatives are aligned to optimize skills and expertise, and align activities in both with business plan priorities.
CONSULTATION
Not applicable.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Not applicable.
CONCLUSION
The Ottawa Police Service met the requirements of the Ontario Police Services Act, Ontario Regulation 3/99 and the Adequacy Standards and has submitted reports on these to the Police Services Board.
The Ottawa Police Service will continue to fulfill its regulatory obligations by maintaining compliance with Adequacy Standards through the quality assurance process with Audit, Risk, DQA and Policy. Quality Assurance will continue to review process and procedure improvements for efficient and effective service delivery.
(original signed by)
Charles Bordeleau
Chief of Police
