But some boards do not join because of the cost involved, meaning they do not have access to these association resources.When Kaustinen began working to transform Durham Region’s police board many years ago, it was relying on the police chief’s secretary to help out.He put a stop to the practice of the board buying gold Rolex watches for retiring officers and used the money to hire a governance expert.Kaustinen is now doing the same thing at the Halton board, taking the equivalent of one full-time salary to hire several part-time experts to work on a diversity-and-inclusion survey, bylaws and public relations.“You don’t need full-time people doing nothing, getting bored,” he said. To order The OPS has five police stations and 19 community policing centres.The majority of marked patrol vehicles deployed by the Ottawa Police Service are The OPS use many different unmarked vehicles. Toronto Star articles, please go to:The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution rights reserved.
The reasons are many: lack of a clear mission, inadequate funding, poor or non-existent training, not enough diversity and a sometimes too cosy relationship with the police chief.But they also see signs that many police boards are modernizing their practices to play a more dynamic role in making forces more attuned to their communities.“Boards are a good thing. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. As a precursor to future amalgamations, the Vanier Police were absorbed by the Ottawa Police in 1984. “You need access to this independent expertise and advice, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot.”Graham was pleased to see that one in the Toronto region he viewed as an “old white-guy, golfer board” a couple of decades ago had recently become more reflective of the community.“The boards are changing dramatically in terms of their representation,” he said.“I think there’s a genuine effort to reflect better the societies.
In 1995, the Ottawa, Nepean and Gloucester police forces amalgamated to form the The service was given its current name in 2001, to reflect the amalgamation of Ottawa-Carleton's constituent municipalities into the new City of Ottawa.The rank of senior constable is no longer awarded, however the rank is still in effect until the last senior constable retires. Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6
They are generally composed of members of municipal council and local citizens appointed by either the province, the municipality or a combination of the two.Duties vary somewhat depending on the province, but most boards are responsible for determining the police service budget and personnel levels, hiring and evaluating the chief, reviewing service performance, labour relations and policy development.Those who have spent decades working with police boards believe in the bodies but say they often fall short of fulfilling their potential. OPS works in partnership with transit special constables who provide many front-line supplemental police services in cooperation with the Ottawa Police. This pay rate is the norm compared to other police services found within Ontario and generally the Ottawa Police Service falls within the top five highest paid services in the province. The Attorney General of Ontario should immediately step-in and override Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly and the Ottawa Police Services Board (OPSB) decision to not call in an independent police agency to investigate criminal misconduct in the highest ranks of the OPS. But it does mean that it is a respectful relationship and they can have a discussion,” said Ruth, a former police constable with a degree in criminology.“If they’ve got a police chief that is resistant, then they should be demanding change.”Ruth began serving on the Halifax Regional Municipality’s Board of Police Commissioners in 2011 and recalls that she, along with a couple of others, became frustrated at not being heard.She and her colleagues made one thing plain: “We are not here for the sandwiches.”Kaustinen says a board generally needs four things to be successful:- A clear mandate or role that’s meaningful to the community and understood by all players, including city council and the police chief;- Substantive training on how to govern police, given that most members lack a public safety background, and on how to work as a team;- Access to information and independent, insightful advice;- A way to measure the performance of the board and its members.In Edmonton, Ruth considers her commission fortunate to have full-time staff.“Most places don’t — they don’t have anybody,” said Ruth, who is also president of the Canadian Association of Police Governance.“In Halifax, for instance, we got to borrow one person for one meeting a month to take the minutes — that was it.