CANADA | Toronto Ombudsman finds major gaps with police’s registry for vulnerable persons

Toronto’s Ombudsman says the Vulnerable Persons Registry (VPR) set up by the Toronto Police Service (TPS) has failed to do its job. “I applaud TPS’s desire to improve how it responds to vulnerable people in crisis,” says Ombudsman Kwame Addo. “But communication failures and poor management have meant that few of the people the registry aims to support have actually registered for it.”

Addo released his report on 5 September 2024, An Investigation into the Toronto Police Service’s Communications About its Vulnerable Persons Registry. The TPS launched the registry in December of 2019 to allow the public to file personalized de-escalation strategies to help police officers support individuals with emotional, psychological, medical, or other physical conditions. Four years later, the Ombudsman’s investigation found that only 305 people currently have their information entered into the registry.

The Ombudsman says the low registration numbers should not have been surprising. “No one within the Toronto Police Service took responsibility for the managing the Vulnerable Persons Registry. The Community Partnership and Engagement Unit was supposed to be in charge of the registry, but the unit denied this.”

Addo continues, “This lack of accountability created gaps in the Toronto Police Service’s communication about the registry. No one is promoting the registry on an ongoing basis, nor is anyone reviewing how communications can be improved, ensuring staff are fulfilling their roles, or providing a central place where people can get consistent answers to their questions.”

These communications gaps ultimately affected the VPR’s success and the public’s ability to make informed choices about using it. The shortcomings include:

• The public announcement of the registry was low-key and approached as a “one and done” effort, despite TPS staff noting it should have been long-term and ongoing.
• Planned targeted promotion and a community awareness event never happened.
• Key details about the goal of the registry were taken down from the TPS’s website.
• TPS staff no longer receive training on how to use the registry, hurting their ability to promote it.
• The TPS never completed its review of the VPR’s impact on registrants’ privacy and personal information.

The Ombudsman made 13 recommendations to improve the communication about the registry, including that the TPS should:

• Publicize meaningful and detailed information about the goal and purpose of the registry.
• Assign a point-of-contact for members of the public who have questions.
• Train staff about their respective roles and responsibilities regarding the registry.
• Clearly explain how TPS will use registrant’s personal information.

The TPS has agreed to implement all of the Ombudsman’s recommendations, even though it plans to turn the operation of the VPR over to a third-party. An Investigation into the Toronto Police Service’s Communications About its Vulnerable Persons Registry is Ombudsman Toronto’s inaugural investigation into the implementation of TPS Board policies and TPS procedures and administration of its services.

To read the investigation report, kindly refer to the download section below.

Source: Toronto Ombudsman, Canada