Police Board to hold Virtual Meeting on Monday February 28, 2022

TORONTO:  The next scheduled meeting of the Toronto Police Services Board will take place on Monday February 28, 2022 at 9AM.   
 
Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, and to protect the health and well-being of all involved while adhering to provincial and Toronto Public Health orders and guidance, this Board Meeting will proceed as a virtual meeting.  Members of the public and media are welcome and encouraged to attend the meeting through our livestream at
https://youtu.be/hf-GeB970MM.

The agenda is available on the Board’s website at: https://tpsb.ca/meetings/meetings-past.
 
Members of the public who wish to make a deputation may register using the regular process, at https://www.tpsb.ca/meetings/making-a-deputation.  The request must be received no later than 12:00pm on Friday February 25, 2022. 
 
                                                                                                                              
Items of Interest at this virtual Board meeting include:
 
INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY PRESENTATION
 
Mr. Colin Stairs, Chief Information Officer, will make a presentation to the Board regarding the Service’s Information and Technology Command.  The mission of this Command is to innovate the operating model of the Service by augmenting policing capabilities that improve effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability.  The presentation will detail a number of relevant recent initiatives such as Body-Worn Cameras and our virtual meeting platform, WebEx.  It will also outline a number of programs, including Digital Officer and Parking Automation, and demonstrate their alignment to the benefits framework. It will also outline the current challenges facing this Command – innovation culture, technology debt, and resourcing, and demonstrate how the Service is responding to these.
 
AWARD OF MEDALS OF MERIT
 
The Board will consider a report from Chief Ramer recommending that the Board approve a recommendation to award a Medal of Merit to Police Constables Scott Randall, Ryan Johnson, Jagmeet Dhinsa and Elena Luna. Notably, a Medal of Merit is the second highest award that can be granted to a police officer or civilian Member. It can be awarded in response to an outstanding act of personal bravery, or in recognition of highly meritorious police service. 
 
The situation giving rise to this recommendation involves a threat at an MP’s office, in which a man doused himself with gasoline and threatened to ignite himself, while being streamed over social media.  As the report notes, the officers quickly took action to save this man’s life despite the risks to their own lives.  Their swift and courageous actions saved the life of this individual, who was clearly suffering from an emotional crisis. Their composure under immense pressure prevented any further injuries to him, themselves, as well as the general public, and prevented a potentially disastrous and fatal situation.
 
SENIOR OFFICER PROMOTIONS
 
The Board will consider a report from the Chief recommending the approval of the promotion of ten Inspectors.  The officers were selected in accordance with the promotional process approved by the Board for the rank of Inspector.  Candidates recommended for promotion were reviewed on the basis of career history, education, awards and significant contributions to the Service and the community.  All candidates successfully completed the two-level interview process.
 
USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGIES
 
The Board will hear a presentation, and consider a report, recommending that the Board approve a new Board Policy entitled “Use of Artificial Intelligence Technology.”
 
This report recommends the approval of a new Board Policy to govern the process for reviewing and approving the use of new technologies implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. The proposed Policy was developed through extensive consultation with experts, stakeholders, and the general public. Our research indicates that this proposed Policy is a first-of-its-kind in Canada. It seeks to strike an important and necessary balance between the beneficial use of AI in policing, and ensuring that it is properly governed and transparent, while not permitting certain higher-risk forms of AI technology whose use will do more harm than good in terms of rights-based impacts and public trust.
 
The purpose of the proposed Policy is to ensure that the Service deploys AI technologies only after meaningful, professional, risk/benefit-based assessment based on identified relevant factors, and the establishment of mitigation and monitoring plans for the use of AI technology. This report also describes the process established by the proposed Policy, and discusses the development process of this Policy, including findings of consultations with stakeholders and the public.
 
In addition, the Board will consider a report from the Chief, which was requested by the Board, detailing findings from the Service’s analysis of use of the Clearview AI tool by Service investigators, potential impacts on ongoing investigations and legal proceedings, and recommendations for steps forward. The report also lists other known uses of facial recognition and AI by the Service, and the steps taken by the Chief to evaluate and mitigate the risks associated with them.
 

As with all meetings, a recording of this meeting will be posted and archived to the Toronto Police Service YouTube account at https://www.youtube.com/TorontoPolice for members of the public to access later at their convenience.