Windsor Police Takeover One Year Later

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An am800 report, Amherstburg Mayor happy After One Year With New Police Service, quoted DiCarlo, “I’ve heard from almost nobody still opposed,” he says. “I’ve heard from a lot of people who were concerned early on and after the switch many of them have said that it turned out to be a really good idea. From the feedback I’m getting from the residents, it has made a very noticeable difference.”

“From what I can tell, on the surface, we’re actually getting more for our money which was really the key that we were looking into this for. Initially, it was really just saving money, but it looks like we’ve added quite a bit of service for cost savings.”

theburgwatch requested DiCarlo to expand, specifically, on what the ‘quite a bit of service’ is.

the burg watch is 8 years old

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Eight years ago, the burg watch was the first site to create a permanent record of council’s performance as a reminder to voters heading to polls.

Early posts were about council’s contravention of the Municipal Act following the Ombudsman Review Of Closed Meeting, flip flops and a lack of commitment to accessibility.

In 2014, the burg watch provided an historic opportunity for residents to question the candidates directly. Despite being threatened with legal action and negative comments, I feel it was a worthwhile endeavour even if not everyone responded as that indicates, to me, their future behaviour.

In 2018, posts referenced another Ombudsman’s Report of council’s and the JPAC’s contravention regarding in camera meetings on the Policing RFP and council’s decision to choose Windsor Police Service without obtaining an OPP costing as promised.

Thank you to those who support the burg watch.

Councillor Donald McArthur’s Response to Police Officers’ Breach of Information Question

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In yesterday’s post I asked members of council if any violation of the employee code of conduct, section 15, was addressed?

Just to recap, section 15.0 Confidential Information:

The following information must not be used or disclosed, except in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“MFIPPA”):

    • information which is personal

Today, McArthur’s response regarding the breach of personal and sensitive information of 40 police officers, employees and family members is:

“It is my understanding that the disclosure of personal information was inadvertent and that it is the opinion of the Clerk, the Treasurer and the Director of Corporate Services, who conducted an investigation, that the inadvertent disclosure was not a Code of Conduct violation.

It is my understanding as well that the Town advised the Information and Privacy Commissioner of this issue and notified the affected individuals. It is also my understanding that the Town took steps to help guard against similar inadvertent disclosures in the future.”

Nowhere in the Employee Code of Conduct does it state not to worry, it was an inadvertent disclosure. Carry on.

Police Officers’ Breach of Information Violation of Employee Code of Conduct?

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Council members have been asked: regarding the town hall employee’s disclosure of Amherstburg police officers’ personal information, including 40 names, addresses, telephone numbers, cell phone numbers, next of kin, spouses’ cell phone numbers, start dates and birthdays, was any violation of the employee code of conduct, section 15, below, addressed?

Section 15 of the outdated 2007 CODE OF CONDUCT POLICY FOR STAFF/EMPLOYEES:

15.0 Confidential Information

The following information must not be used or disclosed, except in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“MFIPPA”):

  • information which is personal,
  • information that constitutes the proprietary information of a third party, individual or group,
  • might reasonably be regarded as having been disclosed to the Employee in confidence,
  • is of a sensitive nature, or imparts to the person in possession of such information anadvantage not available to the public generally.

No Employee shall benefit, either directly or indirectly, from the use of information acquired during the course of official duties that is not generally available to the public.

Personal information controlled by the Town must be used or disclosed in compliance with the MFIPPA.

Employees must protect the following examples of information regarding the Town and others from illegal and unauthorized use:

  • client records,
  • information contained in business strategies and plans,
  • pending proposals or contracts,
  • estimates prior to tender openings,
  • unannounced services,
  • research results,
  • financial data and projections,
  • proposed acquisitions and divestitures,
  • computer programs and software,
  • professional expertise, or
  • inventions.

Amherstburg Police Officers’ Personal Information Breached

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Paula Parker forwarded a request for any RFP Police Services Addenda to Bobbi Reive, Financial Planning Administrator, who disclosed all four addenda.

Addendum #2 contained Amherstburg police officers’ names, addresses, telephone numbers, cell phone numbers, next of kin, spouses’ cell phone numbers, employment start dates and birthdays.

The town advised the Information and Privacy Commissioner Ontario that it implemented remedial measures, including the amendment of the town’s request for information procedures to ensure that any information shall be verified, at least twice, prior to its release to the requester in order to prevent inadvertent disclosure of confidential information.

Coffee With A Cop: Windsor Police Apologize For ‘Misstep’

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Windsor Police held its ‘Coffee With A Cop’ on June 27 at the Caffeine & Co., housed in an inaccessible building in Amherstburg, Ontario.

stairs a barrier to coffee with a cop in amherstburg, ontarioStairs at Caffeine & Co. = #Accessibility barrier! #AODAfail

Windsor, as a Proponent to the Amherstburg RFP Police Services, was informed in section 33, ACCESSIBILITY FOR ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (AODA), that it shall ensure that all its employees receive training regarding the provision of goods and services to per sons with disabilities in accordance with the AODA.

Windsor Police should have already created Accessible Customer Service policies pursuant to provincial legislation that included training:

7.(1) Every obligated organization shall ensure that training is provided on the requirements of the accessibility standards referred to in this Regulation and on the Human Rights Code as it pertains to persons with disabilities.

On February 24, 2011 the Windsor Police Service, Windsor Police Services Board, Ontario Human Rights Commission and Ontario Police College launched the Human Rights Project; Vision Statement:

The Windsor Police Service endeavours to be a professional, effective and accountable law enforcement organization that upholds the human rights and dignity of all people in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code. The Windsor Police Service is committed to playing its part in making Windsor a community where everyone lives, works and visits in a safe, comfortable and inclusive environment.

The Human Rights Project Final Report 2014 noted next steps:

The inclusion of human rights themes through all WPS training and the requirement to monitor training programs to ensure that human rights issues are being addressed on an ongoing basis, will assist WPS members to provide services to the public without discrimination.

As a long time accessibility advocate, I asked Windsor Police for an explanation and received the following:

“My name is Jason Bellaire and I am the Inspector in charge of our uniform patrol officers at the Windsor Police Service (WPS). I was not at the “Coffee with a Cop” event last night (due to a prior commitment); however, I am somewhat familiar with the location where the event was held. This appears to be a regretful oversight on our part as co-organizers of the event. Please accept my apology on behalf of WPS and I assure you that better consideration regarding accessibility will be given when planning future events.

We genuinely appreciate your bringing this issue to our attention and we always welcome any critical feedback from our community members, partners and stakeholders. Once again, please accept our apologies for this misstep and always feel free to contact us with any concerns. Have a safe and happy summer.”

As much as I appreciate the apology, after the fact, I would rather this type of incident not occur in the first place.

Commentary by Linda Saxon

Amherstburg Tourism Website Accessibility Issues

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Amherstburg, known for its history, not accessibility?

I officially began requesting an accessible website for the Town of Amherstburg, among other accessible amenities, in September 2002 and continued into 2016. Promises were made, as were statements that issues were addressed, but problems persisted.

Amherstburg was invited to hire esolutions when the County redesigned its site to meet accessibility standards in 2014. Leamington and Essex had already hired the web design company but Amherstburg declined. According to the town’s site, esolutions redesigned Amherstburg’s site in 2016, although it still has issues.

The new visitamherstburg.ca has accessibility issues that need to comply with provincial legislation.

Let’s Talk Amherstburg’s “website has been has been built by the team at Bang the Table Pty Ltd on behalf of Town of Amherstburg.”

How many sites do we need to pay for? Who is ensuring the town of Amherstburg complies with standards of equal access?

I do remind myself it took over a decade and a human rights complaint from me for the Amherstburg Public Library to be made accessible. Was money an issue then? NO, and I would need to be convinced it is now.

Windsor Police Human Rights Complaints

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Jason Viau, CBC news reported, Windsor police among forces with highest number of human rights complaints in Ontario.

According to the article, Retired constable John Boyle blames the Windsor Police Service for ongoing financial struggles and mental health issues after getting hurt on the job, claiming he was then discriminated against due to his disability.

Boyle is one of the 28 human rights complaints filed against Windsor police between 2008 to 2018. That puts Windsor among the top police forces with the highest number of complaints per capita, according to numbers obtained by CBC News through the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

“It felt almost like a personal vendetta against me or that they were out to get me and push me out,” said Boyle. “I wasn’t trying to be unreasonable. I just needed some help.”

Totally relatable.