An Investigation into the Toronto Police Service’s Communications About its Vulnerable Persons Registry

In December 2019, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) launched a Vulnerable Persons Registry (VPR) to improve police officers’ interactions with vulnerable persons in crisis through the creation of personalized de-escalation strategies.

However, four years later, communications failures and poor management have resulted in a low number of registrations from the individuals the registry aims to support.

Our Investigaiton

We investigated the transparency, adequacy, and meaningfulness of the TPS’s communications about the VPR, including:

• How the TPS communicated to the public about the VPR’s purpose and processes, as well as how it uses the personal information people enter into the registry.

• How the TPS communicates internally with its staff about the VPR and if there are potential gaps in staff’s knowledge.

What We Found

No one within the TPS took responsibility for managing the VPR. This lack of accountability created gaps in the TPS’s communication, ultimately affecting the VPR’s success and the public’s ability to make informed choices about using it.

• The public announcement of the registry was low-key and approached as a “one and done” effort, despite TPS staff noting it should have been long-term and ongoing.

• Planned targeted promotion and a community awareness event never happened.

• Key details about the goal of the registry were taken down from the TPS’s website.

• TPS staff no longer receive training on how to use the registry, hurting their ability to promote it.

• The TPS never completed its review of the VPR’s impact on registrants’ privacy and personal information.

Our Recommendations

We made 13 recommendations to the TPS to improve their communication about the VPR. Once implemented, they will help ensure the public knows about the VPR and can make informed decisions about whether to use it.