Get ready for an info dump at this month’s Guelph Police Services Board meeting. In the aftermath of what turned out to be a not-very busy St. Patrick’s Day weekend despite all the pre-planning, Royal City’s finest will talk to their civilian oversight board about all the records accessed and uploaded in the last year, some reporting to other agencies, and the Chief’s monthly verbal report. Let’s dive into the agenda!
NOTE: This meeting takes place virtually at 2:30 pm but it will be broadcast on Guelph Police’s YouTube page.
Board Correspondence Report – There’s no incoming or outgoing mail this month.
2023 Access to Information Report – There were 509 requests for information through the Freedom of Information process last year, which is about 50 extra requests when compared to 2022, an 11 per cent jump in other words. The average response time to requests increased by nearly six per cent last year to 18 days, but it’s still below the 30-day time limit allowed under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. (Also, only five per cent of cases took more than 30 days to fill.) A little more than three-quarters of the requests came in electronically, but 10 per cent of requests are still being brought to the Wyndham Street in-person.
ViCLAS/Major Case Management: 2023 Annual Report – ViCLAS means “Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System”, which is a way for the RCMP to find linkages that exist among serial crimes committed by the same offender. Every year, Guelph Police reviews its own data and makes sure it’s been uploaded correctly to the ViCLAS system and provide the board with this report for information.
Missing Persons Act, 2023: Annual Report – There’s a provision in the Missing Persons Act of 2018 that requires police services to file an annual report about – you know – missing persons in their jurisdiction the year before. In 2023, nine urgent demands were made for four missing persons investigations. There were also three demands for cell phone records/emergency phone pings and six demands were made for financial records. The report has already been submitted to the provincial government.
Public Sector Salary Disclosure for 2023 – This is what’s more pejoratively known as the “Sunshine List.” In 2023, there were 211 employees with the Guelph Police Service who made $100,000 or more, that’s about three-fifths of the service and a 12.2 per cent increase from last year. The bump is owed to a new pay rate for First Class Police Constables, overtime, changes to the collective agreements, and special duty like the Festive RIDE program (some of which is covered by provincial grants). The report does note that according to inflation, $100,000 in 1996 dollars when the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act went into effect would be around $174,886 in 2023, and only 11 employees get over that line.
Professional Standards 2023 Year End Report – Of course you know that there are quarterly reports about professional standards, but there must also be an annual report! To break it down, there were 67 public complaints received by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director involving Guelph Police officers. Of those, 30 were referred to investigation by Professional Standards, and two of those 30 were reviewed and concluded. The mandate of the Special Investigations Unit was invoked on three occasions, and all three of those investigations have been concluded. The Chief also initiated an internal investigation, which has been concluded with misconduct being substantiated.
Member Appointments – The board will need to approve the five new full-time hires. They are Cadets-in-Training, on the job learning until they go to the Ontario Police College at a date to-be-determined.
Chief’s Monthly Report – As usual, Guelph Police Services Chief Gord Cobey will deliver a verbal report about the latest goings on at 15 Wyndham Street South.
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