The Police Record Check Coalition (PRCC) achieved success in 2011 by working with the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) to develop and implement their Police Record Check Guideline. When individuals have non-criminal contact with the police, information about the contact is included in their police file. If individuals then request a police records check for the purpose of working or volunteering with a vulnerable population, the non-criminal information is disclosed, which may impact negatively when applying for a position, gaining access to housing, and even when crossing the border. The OACP Guideline is Ontario’s first province-wide standard for protecting the privacy of non-criminal mental health information at all levels of police record checks.
The time has come for the PRCC to continue its work by defining new systemic law reform goals for 2012-2013. Interested individuals and organizations are invited to attend the PRCC general meeting on May 16, 2012, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario boardroom, 180 Dundas St. W., Suite 2301, Toronto.
If you would like to attend this meeting, please RSVP by email toprcc@mentalhealthpolicerecords.ca or by phone to Uppala Chandrasekera at (416) 977-5580 ext 4145.
To educate the public about the Guideline, the PRCC recently re-launched their website, now at www.mentalhealthpolicerecords.ca. This website outlines rights and responsibilities regarding the disclosure of mental health police records, and contains a new Info Guide on cross-border travel and mental health information.
To access the OACP Guideline for Police Record Checks, visitwww.mentalhealthpolicerecords.ca.
The PRCC is also on Twitter at twitter.com/#!/PRCC_Ontario and Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Mental-Health-Police-Record-Check-Coalition.