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Coaches, festival assistants, scout leaders and other volunteers could be forced to pay for background checks if the Ottawa Police Service decides they need to help shoulder the $4.7-million cost of providing the documents.
Public consultations are scheduled to begin in June on options for restructuring the fees for police background checks. The options, revealed Monday during a meeting of the police services board’s finance committee, include charging volunteers for the search results, which some organizations fear could hurt low-income communities.
There are varying fees depending on why an applicant needs a background check and the type of check required. A criminal record check required for employment purposes is $50 and a vulnerable sector check is $15.
Checks for volunteer purposes of all types are free, a policy that the police services board has maintained since the amalgamation of the Ottawa, Gloucester and Nepean forces in 1995. An exception: The force charges $42 for everyone, including volunteers, who need the background check on the same day it’s requested.
However, the force says its losing huge sums of money providing background checks in general. The work cost the force $4.7 million in 2017, but Chief Charles Bordeleau said police recovered only $2.2 million from the fees. The average cost per transaction was $63.
Ottawa police hinted in the 2018 budget that changes could be coming to the background check fee structure, and now that the force is pleased with the rollout of its online ordering platform, which is a trailblazing service for police departments in North America, it’s ready to begin recovering the true costs.
The police services board could continue allowing volunteers to have free background checks, but that would likely come at the cost of people needing background checks for jobs. For example, if the force wants to cover $4.7 million in expenses and keep checks free for volunteers, it would have to charge $90 to people needing checks for work employment purposes. If the board wants to keep the fee lower for employment purposes, volunteers will need to cough up some money for their checks.
(Police can’t use these types of fees as a cash grab to boost their budget; provincial legislation governing municipalities says fees must reflect the cost of providing the service.)
The police executive pointed to some other Ontario municipalities that charge volunteers as much as $50 for background checks.
Marcia Morris, executive director of Ottawa Sport Council, said volunteers might understand if there needs to be a fee for background checks, but a new cost could prevent organizations in economically challenged neighbourhoods from attracting volunteers.
“For many, it would be a barrier to participating,” Morris said.
The same concern is coming from the local festival industry.
“Charging a fee to people who want to make a positive contribution to our community by volunteering at not-for-profit organizations and festivals is a barrier,” said Carole Anne Piccinin, executive director of the Ottawa Festival Network. “There would be a risk of losing those who are already giving of their time doing amazing work for our city, especially low-income earners, youth and seniors who can benefit greatly from volunteering.”
There has been a steep increase in the number of background checks done by Ottawa police. The force completed 75,000 checks in 2017, compared to 48,000 in 2013. The number grew steadily over that five-year span. The force is projecting 88,000 background checks in 2018.
Uber’s arrival in Ottawa is driving the increase. Drivers operating on the ride-ordering company’s app must get a police background check.
While people can get a background check within 48 hours by using the police online ordering system, 30 per cent of applicants still wait in line at a police office on Queensview Drive to file their request. People under 18 years old must apply in person since the online ordering system uses credit histories to confirm identities; the police force is working on another verification method so teens can also avoid the lineups, which are a 55-minute wait on average.
The force plans to present the background check fee options to the police board later this month before beginning consultations.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
Public consultations are scheduled to begin in June on options for restructuring the fees for police background checks. The options, revealed Monday during a meeting of the police services board’s finance committee, include charging volunteers for the search results, which some organizations fear could hurt low-income communities.
There are varying fees depending on why an applicant needs a background check and the type of check required. A criminal record check required for employment purposes is $50 and a vulnerable sector check is $15.
Checks for volunteer purposes of all types are free, a policy that the police services board has maintained since the amalgamation of the Ottawa, Gloucester and Nepean forces in 1995. An exception: The force charges $42 for everyone, including volunteers, who need the background check on the same day it’s requested.
However, the force says its losing huge sums of money providing background checks in general. The work cost the force $4.7 million in 2017, but Chief Charles Bordeleau said police recovered only $2.2 million from the fees. The average cost per transaction was $63.
Ottawa police hinted in the 2018 budget that changes could be coming to the background check fee structure, and now that the force is pleased with the rollout of its online ordering platform, which is a trailblazing service for police departments in North America, it’s ready to begin recovering the true costs.
The police services board could continue allowing volunteers to have free background checks, but that would likely come at the cost of people needing background checks for jobs. For example, if the force wants to cover $4.7 million in expenses and keep checks free for volunteers, it would have to charge $90 to people needing checks for work employment purposes. If the board wants to keep the fee lower for employment purposes, volunteers will need to cough up some money for their checks.
(Police can’t use these types of fees as a cash grab to boost their budget; provincial legislation governing municipalities says fees must reflect the cost of providing the service.)
The police executive pointed to some other Ontario municipalities that charge volunteers as much as $50 for background checks.
Marcia Morris, executive director of Ottawa Sport Council, said volunteers might understand if there needs to be a fee for background checks, but a new cost could prevent organizations in economically challenged neighbourhoods from attracting volunteers.
“For many, it would be a barrier to participating,” Morris said.
The same concern is coming from the local festival industry.
“Charging a fee to people who want to make a positive contribution to our community by volunteering at not-for-profit organizations and festivals is a barrier,” said Carole Anne Piccinin, executive director of the Ottawa Festival Network. “There would be a risk of losing those who are already giving of their time doing amazing work for our city, especially low-income earners, youth and seniors who can benefit greatly from volunteering.”
There has been a steep increase in the number of background checks done by Ottawa police. The force completed 75,000 checks in 2017, compared to 48,000 in 2013. The number grew steadily over that five-year span. The force is projecting 88,000 background checks in 2018.
Uber’s arrival in Ottawa is driving the increase. Drivers operating on the ride-ordering company’s app must get a police background check.
While people can get a background check within 48 hours by using the police online ordering system, 30 per cent of applicants still wait in line at a police office on Queensview Drive to file their request. People under 18 years old must apply in person since the online ordering system uses credit histories to confirm identities; the police force is working on another verification method so teens can also avoid the lineups, which are a 55-minute wait on average.
The force plans to present the background check fee options to the police board later this month before beginning consultations.
jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling
查看原文...
