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OTTAWA POLICE SERVICES BOARD COMMISSION DE SERVICES POLICIERS D’OTTAWA
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The Trusted Leader in Policing Le chef de file de confiance dans la police |
REPORT RAPPORT |
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DATE 28 October 2013
TO/DEST. Chair and Members, Ottawa Police Services Board
FROM/EXP. Policy & Governance Committee
SUBJECT/OBJET BOARD POLICIES: 2013 REVIEW
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
That the Ottawa Police Services Board approve the amendments to Board policies outlined in this report.
BACKGROUND
Police services boards are charged with many responsibilities under the Police Services Act to ensure the delivery of adequate and effective police services, through providing governance and oversight to the Ottawa Police Service. To assist it in fulfilling these responsibilities, the Ottawa Police Services Board maintains a Policy Manual with upwards of 100 policies divided into the following four chapters:
- Governance and Administration
- Board / Chief Linkages
- Chief’s Requirements, and
- Ministry Policing Standards and Regulations.
Each policy has a routine review date associated with it; the Board’s general practice is that unless otherwise stated, policies are to be reviewed at least once every three years to ensure they remain current and relevant. The last review of the majority of Board policies in Chapters 1, 2 and 4 occurred in 2010, therefore they are due for review again in 2013. Policies in Chapter Three were reviewed in 2012 with the exception of the following three, which are due for review this year: CR-9: Audit Requirement; CR-10: Public Rewards; and CR-14: Accessibility Standards for Customer Service. A complete list of all policies scheduled for review in 2013 is attached at Annex A.
Proposed amendments are the result of a number of factors, such as: responding to new provincial legislation or changes to existing legislation; bringing policies in line with actual practice; consistency; and administrative or housekeeping updates.
Following comprehensive review, six policies in Chapter One dealing with the Governance and Administration of the Board are recommended for amendment, two policies in Chapter Three (Chief’s Requirements) have proposed amendments, and three policies in Chapter Four (Ministry Policing Standards), require amendment. The following chart itemizes the proposed amendments and the rationale for them.
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Policy |
Amendments |
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GA-1: Board Member Job Description |
Tidy up the language in the Time Commitment section to make it more concise and update the average time spent on board work to reflect the Board’s Activity Reports for 2012 and 2011 (average number of hours spent at board-related functions and meetings is 40 hours/month).
Amend the Training Requirements section to indicate that attendance at two specific police governance conferences in the first two years on the board is encouraged as opposed to required.
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GA-3: Board Training |
Amend point 2 to indicate that attendance at two specific police governance conferences in the first two years on the board is encouraged as opposed to required.
Amend point 6(e) to reflect the current name of the Canadian Police Association (instead of Canadian Professional Police Association). |
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GA-4: Board Committees |
Amend point 3.2 in the section on the Finance & Audit Committee to change the meeting requirement from at least 4 times a year to at least 3 times a year. The committee typically meets in April, June and September; additional meetings can be added as required.
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GA-5: Board Planning and Performance Review |
Amend section 7 to indicate that the Chief’s performance will be evaluated each year, removing “coinciding with the anniversary of his/her start date”. This is in line with current practice.
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GA-7: Board Discretionary Fund |
Amend the first funding priority (Community Relations through Involvement with Police-Related Organizations) by adding: “For this funding priority, the Board Chair shall have delegated authority to approve expenditures up to $1,500 from organizations that the Board has a history of supporting. Other requests will require Board approval.” This will enable the Chair to approve, should he wish to exercise his delegated authority, the purchase of tickets to fundraising events for community organizations that the Board supports on an annual basis because of their partnership with the Police Service or Board. |
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GA-12: Board Member Travel and Expense Reimbursement |
Amend second sentence in 2.4 to read, “If an expense has not been prepaid, the Board member is responsible for payment of the cost and will be reimbursed upon submission of a duly completed Expense Claim Form.”
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CR-3: Executive Succession Planning |
Amend the policy to align with the Executive Succession Management Program approved in April 2013. As amendments are substantial, they are indicated in the attached policy at Annex B. |
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CR-12: Commemorative Naming of Police Facilities |
- Move “Definitions” section to after the section on Application.
- Add “or their designate” to the end of the lead-in sentence in section 7 and remove the same words from the end of each of the bullets in that section. |
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LE-016: Prisoner Care and Control |
In response to the Morden Report, add two new bullets:
“d) Ensure that where young people may be detained in the same facility as adults, specific measures are taken to guarantee compliance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act, S.C. 2002, c.1. “e) Ensure that where male, female, transsexual, and transgendered persons are to be detained in the same facility, specific measures are taken to separate completely male, female, transsexual and transgendered prisoners.”
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LE-045: Suspect Apprehension Pursuits |
As per a Ministry notice dated 14 March 2013, amend the Legislative Reference/Authority section to read, “Suspect Apprehension Pursuits Regulation 546/99, sections 5 and 6”, and eliminate section 7(2). |
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AI-010: Police Uniforms |
In response to the Morden Report, amend policy to read that the Chief will:
“Develop procedures on the provision and use of a standardized uniform by the police service’s uniformed police officers, which will include that name badges be worn at all times.”
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CONSULTATION
All Board members were consulted as to whether they wished to amend any policies and were invited to submit changes. Similarly, the Chief and his staff were asked to review the policies and submit amendments for consideration. All feedback received has been incorporated into the proposed changes.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
There is no cost associated with the review of the Board policies or the proposed amendments.
CONCLUSION
The Ottawa Police Services Board maintains a comprehensive set of policies to assist it in providing effective governance and oversight for the Ottawa Police Service. Such policies are necessary to successfully fulfill the Board’s legislative responsibilities of providing adequate and effective police services in the City of Ottawa. The Board has committed itself to regular review of its policies to ensure they remain relevant and up-to-date.
In accordance with the Board’s work plan for 2013, the Policy & Governance Committee undertook a comprehensive review of the board policies and recommends the amendments identified in this report for the approval of the Board. Once Board approval is received, the Policy Manual will be updated and circulated.
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Submitted by the Policy & Governance Committee:
C. Nicholson, Chair
A. Doyle
J. Durrell
Attach. (2)