WATCH: The Toronto Police Service is planning their launch of a vulnerable persons registry. Mark Carcasole has the details.
TORONTO – The Toronto Police Service is set to join the ranks of 18 other law enforcement agencies across the Greater Toronto Area who have opted to implement a vulnerable person registry.
Toronto police are in the process of finalizing the details and plan to make the announcement official in the coming weeks. Toronto Police Service confirmed to Global News the database is on its way, but declined further comment.
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Such registries allow authorities to have access to vital personal information for vulnerable people in times of crisis.
Peel Regional Police and York Region have similar services in place to deal with individuals with medical, mental health, or physical conditions which may make them susceptible to injury during an arrest or police interaction. Conditions to report to such a registry may include wandering, inability to communicate and social responses such as fears.
“We have about over 1,600 people that are currently on the registry,” said Peel Const. Laura Nicolle. “It is voluntary, so typically what happens is a care provider for a person who might be of an increased risk or a vulnerable person, as is classified in our requirements on our form, they would register their loved one or the person they’re caring for just by filling out the online form.”
Peel police describes a vulnerable person as someone “who due to a medical, mental health, or physical condition may exhibit patterns of behaviour that may pose a danger to themselves or others.”
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Nicolle told Global News the database contains information, descriptors, photos or other vital information that officers can access easily and quickly. The registry can also help when officers encounter a person who might not be able to communicate who they are. Nicolle said officers are being continually trained for dealing with vulnerable people.
“You know what, any time we are going into a situation regardless of the type of interaction we might be having with a person, the more information you can go to that situation with, the better prepared you are to handle it.”
Nicolle said Peel police first started collecting information in 1990, and information is at time shared with other regions.
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Anita Szigeti, mental disorder chair for the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, said there are “pros and cons to such a registry.”
“The pros may be if it’s voluntarily done, if someone gives information about what may work best for them, in terms of de-escalating them in a crisis'” said Szigeti. “It could possibly be helpful.”
“On the other hand, it is a risky venture. We always worry about the state compiling lists of vulnerable or disabled individuals.”
She cautions against the information being shared too widely.
“We would not want to see anything other than an entirely voluntary completion of information.”
She said it’s important to know more about what information will be collected, how it will be collected and how it will be shared.
“What we really need is for police to know how to de-escalate individuals in crisis,” said Szigeti. “Mounds and mounds of further information are not necessarily going to help.”
With files from Mark Carcasole
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