South Simcoe Police were already considering a change to their Police Record Check System, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Police record checks are required for some employment positions, and for those volunteering with vulnerable populations, including children and seniors.
The current system requires applicants to show up in person at either the North or South Division, to fill in the forms, verify their identity, and pay the cost.
The bulk of the process is handled at the front desk. In 2019, there were 13,417 requests related to police record checks – making up “65 percent of front desk walk-in workload,” according to a report presented to the Bradford West Gwillimbury-Innisfil Police Services Board this week.
The forms, once completed, are then processed by Information Services – a time-consuming process that has become even more problematic during the pandemic, due to the need to ensure social distancing and reduce face-to-face contacts.
The board was presented with a recommended solution: the introduction of an online digital application process.
South Simcoe Police are recommending a system developed by Ottawa-based Rogue Data Corporation, a system already in use by both Ottawa and Peel Regional Police.
The new system would allow the public to access, pay for, and submit police record check applications online, and permit the electronic processing of requests by police.
There would be an additional cost, of $6.50 per application. The PSB was told that the service could recover at least some of the additional cost by slightly raising the fees charged for the checks.
Currently, a volunteer check costs $20 without fingerprints, $45 with prints. Employment checks are $45 without fingerprints, $80 with; and a request for fingerprints only is $65. Fingerprint requests include the $25 fee charged by the RCMP.
The new fee schedule proposed increasing the cost of volunteer checks to $25 and $50, depending on whether fingerprinting is required; $55 and $90 for employment checks; and $70 for prints only.
The new system would not only ease the workload for front desk employees, but reduce face-to-face contact for both the public and staff.
Members of the PSB were supportive of the move to a digital process, but did not want to increase the fee charged to volunteers, who are already contributing so much to their communities.
After debate, the proposal was approved, “with one small change,” said Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin. “We are going to leave the price of the volunteer check where it is now, and increase the employment check to compensate.”
The additional cost will be recovered through an increased fee structure "for all areas except volunteers."
Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor Rob Keffer noted that even when the digital system is up and running, those who are uncomfortable with filling out forms on line will have another option.
“People can still visit in person to the police stations, to initiate the police check,” he said.
There was some concern over the security of the information collected digitally. Board members were assured that all of the data will remain on the South Simcoe Police servers, and will be secure and safeguarded.
No timeline was provided for the introduction of the digital service; the next step, the Board was told, was to negotiate a contract with Rogue Data Corp. for the system.
