Item - 2017.CC28.5

City Council on April 26, 27 and 28, 2017, adopted the following:

1.  City Council adopt the report (April 20, 2017) from the Ombudsman and in so doing, City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission to implement all of the Ombudsman's recommendations.

Ombudsman's Recommendations:

UNION STATION INCIDENT

1.  The Toronto Transit Commission should examine the January 29, 2015 incident at Union Station in the interest of public safety and safety for Toronto Transit Commission staff. Matters analyzed in such an examination should include the circumstances that led to the incident, how it could have been avoided, and whether it is necessary to implement policies and processes aimed at reducing the likelihood of a similar incident in the future.

USE OF FORCE

2.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should amend its use of force reporting policy to provide greater clarity to members about use of force reports and when they must be completed. The policy should indicate the types of member actions the Unit wishes to capture on a use of force report. The Unit should strongly consider implementing a use of force reporting policy similar to the one put in place by OC Transpo's Transit Safety and Enforcement Services section.

3.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should obtain clarification from Toronto Police about the use of force reporting requirements under the Special Constable Agreement.

4.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should create its own use of force reporting template to document use of force incidents not required to be submitted to the Toronto Police. The reports should capture information that is relevant to the operations of the Unit, for example, station location and type of  Toronto Transit Commission vehicle involved. The Unit should use this information to identify trends and, potentially, to develop policy and training improvements.

5.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should implement a formal "early warning" tracking system to monitor the frequency and type of use of force incidents in which members are involved as a way to detect and, if need be, address patterns in member use of force.

6.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should issue, on an annual basis, a public report documenting Transit Enforcement Officer and Transit Fare Inspector use of force activities. The report should, at a minimum, provide the number of use of force incidents involving Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors, a brief summary of each incident, and statistics of use of force activities for previous years to allow for a comparative analysis.

7.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should implement a written policy on Transit Fare Inspector authority to use force.

8.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should develop written policies and procedures for its Use of Force Review Board. These should include a clear explanation of the board's purpose, its mandate and processes, and how the board enhances the Unit's oversight of its members.

9.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should remove or replace the Unit Complaints Coordinator as a participating member of the Use of Force Review Board.

TRAINING – DE-ESCALATION AND MENTAL HEALTH

10.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should amend its use of force policy to clearly outline the importance of de-escalation as an alternative to the use of physical force. The policy should provide a definition of de-escalation tactics and offer examples of situations where such tactics may be appropriate.

11.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should develop and/or amend training materials for Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors to highlight the importance and value of de-escalation as an alternative to the use of force. The training materials should also clearly outline how de-escalation skills and tactics are taught to Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors.

12.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should develop a formal evaluation process to assess Transit Enforcement Officer and Transit Fare Inspector use of de-escalation techniques during initial and ongoing training.

13.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should ensure that Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors receive regular training on mental health and on responding to persons impacted by issues related to mental health and mental illness.

PUBLIC COMPLAINTS

14.  The Toronto Transit Commission should develop a policy on resolving informal complaints against Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors through a local resolution process, and amend its complaints investigation procedures to include information about informal complaints and the resolution of same through a local resolution process. At a minimum, the policy should:

•  Outline what matters are eligible and ineligible for local resolution, and clarify that informal complaints which raise serious issues are ineligible for local resolution;

•  Provide timelines within which informal complaints will be resolved by local resolution;

•  Outline what communication complainants will receive about the complaints addressed by local resolution, for example, findings and outcome;

•  Establish a system to track the outcomes of informal complaints addressed by local resolution; and

•  Explain how a complainant can initiate a formal complaint should they not be satisfied with the outcome of the local resolution.

15.  The Toronto Transit Commission should amend its complaints investigations procedures to clarify that the Unit Complaints Coordinator accepts and can formally investigate oral complaints about Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors.

16.  The  Toronto Transit Commission should contact Toronto Police and clarify its complaint reporting obligations under the Special Constable Agreement for complaints about Transit Enforcement Officers that the Toronto Transit Commission receives by email.

17.  The Toronto Transit Commission should establish a written policy for the resolution of formal complaints against Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors informally. The policy should state that the Unit Complaints Coordinator must agree to resolve the complaint informally. The policy should also address whether a complaint can be resolved informally if there is a history of similar complaints against the Transit Enforcement Officer or Transit Fare Inspector involved.

18.  The Toronto Transit Commission's complaints investigations procedure for Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors should be amended to empower the Unit Complaints Coordinator to initiate an own initiative investigation in the absence of a public complaint, and, where deemed necessary by the Unit Complaints Coordinator, to continue a complaint investigation even if the complaint has been withdrawn.

19.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should establish a formal process to identify and monitor complaint trends for Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors. The Unit should also implement a policy outlining the process to be followed when a trend becomes apparent.

20.  The Toronto Transit Commission, through the Unit Complaints Coordinator, should make and release an annual public report that provides information on public complaints about Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors. These reports should include year-over-year complaint statistics for formal and informal complaints, brief summaries of complaint issues or common complaints received, complaint outcomes, information about complaint trends, and any other information deemed relevant by the Unit Complaints Coordinator.

21.  The Toronto Transit Commission should amend its complaints investigations procedures for Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors to reflect that the Unit Complaints Coordinator will notify complainants about the outcome of complaint investigations.

VIDEO CAMERAS

22.  The Toronto Transit Commission should install video recording cameras in all Transit Enforcement Unit patrol cars. The Toronto Transit Commission should also amend its corporate policy and procedures on video recording in public areas to reflect the use of video recording cameras in Transit Enforcement Unit patrol cars.

THE EXERCISE OF AUTHORITY

23.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should review its Code of Conduct for Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors to ensure that it aligns with the Unit's operational and organizational expectations of both positions. The Conduct of Conduct should define "unnecessary" arrest, which is a basis for a finding of misconduct.

24.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should consider creating a policy on the exercise of discretion by Transit Enforcement Officers and Transit Fare Inspectors to use their authority.

25.  The Transit Enforcement Unit should create a written policy on the arrest authority of a Transit Fare Inspector.

REPORTING BACK

26.  The Toronto Transit Commission should report back to Ombudsman Toronto on a quarterly basis on the status of the implementation of all of the above noted recommendations until such time as we are satisfied that adequate steps have been taken to address them.

2.  City Council forward this Item to the Toronto Police Services Board for information.