City police adjust to new provincial record check rules

City police help people provice criminal record checks for jobs, volunteering

Recent changes to police record checks will mean a change to who can access youth records.

Bill 113, responsible for police record checks (PRC), was amended by the Ontario government on Nov. 1.

City police issued an update Wednesday explaining the changes and how they affect Peterborough residents.

A PRC is a search of police database records. The checks are often used as part of a screening process for employment or volunteering.

Initially passed in Dec. 2015, Bill 113 limited the types of information that could be released by police record checks and standardized disclosure procedures.

The new legislation has changed how PRCs are done in Ontario.

It’s designed to create a province-wide clear, consistent and comprehensive.

The biggest change to the Bill involves youth records. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), youth records will only be released to federal, provincial or municipal government agencies within certain periods.

The YCJA prevents youth from sharing the records with any other potential employer or volunteer organization. Non-government agencies can’t ask for or receive records under the YCJA.

For adults, the Police Record Checks Reform Act oversees the types of record check that can be done for screening purposes, such as non-law enforcement. The act allows three different types of PRCs.

The new legislation has slightly changed the names of the three PRCs offered by city police, but the information reported on each check stays the same.

The Police Criminal Record Check is now called the Criminal Record Check. It includes criminal convictions, summary convictions of five years, and guilty findings under the YCJA, within the disclosure period.

The Police Information Check is now the Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check. It includes the same checks as above and outstanding entries, such as charges and warrants, judicial orders, peace bonds, probation and prohibition orders, and absolute and conditional discharges for one or three years.

Vulnerable Sector Check, previously the Police Vulnerable Sector Check, includes the same checks as the others in addition to not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder, all record suspensions authorized for release by the minister of public safety, and in very exceptional cases, where the exceptional disclosure assessment is withdrawn or dismissed.

The fees for all the checks are the same.

City police are also now offering on-the-spot record checks, which are available Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Not everyone will be eligible for the service, though, and it may not run during busy times.

Applications can be done inperson Monday to Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. and can be mailed out.

Completed record checks will be mailed out to applicants or returned immediately during on-the-spot checks.

Online record checks are also available 24/7 at www.policesolutions.ca/checks/services/peterborough/index.php

In-person pick-ups for record checks are no longer available, city police stated.