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Procedure
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All Parks
and Recreation Staff will make every effort to greet Police when they come to
a centre and offer their assistance.
- A designated Part Time
Staff will act as liaison with the police when Full Time staff are not
present at the centre.
- Parks and Recreation Staff
will act in a courteous and respectful manner to police.
- Use of the telephone and
office space, if available, will be offered to visiting police officers,
if requested.
- Should a pursuit, an
arrest, or any other incident out of the ordinary occur, a Full Time or
the designated Part Time Staff person in charge, using good judgement
will request the police officer(s) badge number(s).
- If an arrest or
major incident occurs the On Call Supervisor or Supervisor of Recreation
and Facilities must be notified. The Media Hot Line should be called as
soon as possible.
- Staff in charge must fill
out appropriate forms.
- Staff must report any
incidents or difficulties in their relationship with the police to their
Supervisor. The Supervisor will then contact the appropriate person
within the police department to mutually resolve any difficulties.
- Supervisor of Recreation
and Facilities or Regional Manager may make individual arrangement to be
notified of any community crime activity including local arrests in parks.
- Staff should be familiar
with the attached guidelines and form for when the Police request access
to personal information.
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Disclosure of Personal
Information
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Guidelines for the Disclosure of Personal Information
in Response to a Request by a Law Enforcement Officer
Introduction
One of the key principles of the Municipal
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) is the
protection of personal information. The requirements of the Act
concerning personal privacy include establishing standards for the
collection, use and disclosure of personal information.
The City of Toronto creates and maintains
many different types of records, many of which contain personal information.
Departments frequently receive requests for access to this information
from a variety of external government law enforcement agencies, including
City of Toronto Police Services (TPS), the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)
and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
The collection, use and disclosure of
personal information is restricted to specific circumstances outlined in Part
II of the Act. Section 32(g) of the Act permits the disclosure of
personal information by the City of Toronto to a law enforcement agency in Canada
for the purpose of aiding an investigation undertaken with a view to a law
enforcement proceeding.
The Corporate Access and Privacy Office
has developed a corporate form and these guidelines to assist City staff in
identifying when they are permitted to disclose personal information in
response to a request received from a law enforcement agency in Canada, and
specific procedures to follow when disclosing personal information in these
circumstances.
Guidelines
- When a law enforcement
officer attends at any City facility requesting access to personal
information in its custody and control, they must complete a Law
Enforcement Officer's Request for Access to Personal Information form
(Attached).
- Staff are required to ask
the attending police officer for identification and ensure that their
badge numbers are recorded on the form.
- Staff are to complete
Part I of the form, indicating whether the request is for employee or
client information, the City location, the file title and a brief
description of the records requested by the police.
- Staff can assist the
police in identifying in detail what information they require, so that
only those records relevant to the investigation are disclosed. In
the event that specific information cannot be identified, but the police
are requesting to search through a large volume of records, please
contact the Corporate Access and Privacy Office for further direction.
- Part II of the form is to
be completed by the attending police officer. He/she must record:
. an Occurrence Report No.
. whether copies are requested or to view the original, or both
. whether the originals will be requested under subpoena
Note: Originals records are never
to be provided to an attending officer
- Staff must ensure that
the form is dated and signed by the requesting officer and attending
staff person.
- Forward the completed
original form in a sealed envelope, marked confidential, to the
attention of Rita Reynolds, Director of Corporate Access and Privacy at
Metro Hall, 7th Floor, 55 John St.
- Place a copy of the
completed form, along with copies of the records that were disclosed to
the law enforcement officer, in the employee or client's file.
- If presented with a
subpoena, you will likely to be expected to attend at court with a
certified copy of the original records that have been requested.
Staff must contact the department's solicitor when presented with
a subpoena.
- Staff must make a copy of
the subpoena and the records that have been requested and place these in
the employee or customer file. A copy of the subpoena is to be
forwarded, by confidential mail, to Rita Reynolds, Director of Corporate
Access and Privacy at Metro Hall, 7th Floor, 55 John St.
- Special Note: There may be
exceptional circumstances that arise in which staff receive a request
from the police for information over the telephone. Please refer
all such calls to Corporate Access and Privacy prior to disclosing any
personal information.
Copies of the form can be obtained from Corporate
Access and Privacy Office by calling 392-9684. Any questions related to
these guidelines can be directed to Sarah Funston-Mills, Manager of Policy
and Compliance at 392-9674
(Guidelines were Prepared by Corporate Access and Privacy
January 2000)
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