Governance
Records Management Policy
Policy No: 05/06
Date Approved: January 24, 2001
Dates Amended: November 29, 2006, February 20, 2013, November 18, 2015, December 17, 2018
Policy Statement
It is the policy of The Regional Municipality of York Police Services Board (“the Board”) to manage, preserve and dispose of its records in accordance with the requirements of applicable legislation governing the collection, security, retention, use, disclosure and destruction of records and the administrative procedures outlined herein.
The Board is committed to keeping pace with technological developments that improve the efficient administrative management of its records and to develop and enhance consistent business and technology processes across the organization and therefore identified the need for a revised Records Classification and Retention Schedule.
The Policy requirements set out in this document shall form part of the Police Services Board Policy Manual.
1. Policy Guidelines
1.1 Records management procedures shall comply with all applicable legislation, which includes the Municipal Act, 2001 and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
1.2 Records management procedures shall comply with administrative requirements of The Regional Municipality of York (the “Region”) and the Police Service Guidelines outlined by the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General in the Policing Standards Manual (2000), as they may be updated from time to time.
1.3 Records management procedures shall address the classification and security of Board records.
1.4 Records management procedures shall address the collection, storage, retrieval, use, disclosure and destruction of records.
1.5 The disposition of records shall be in accordance with the Records Classification and Retention Schedule contained herein.
2. Application and Scope
2.1 All correspondence and documents received on behalf of the Board are deemed to be Board records under this policy. Board records include all paper documents, electronic files, and records that have been microfilmed or scanned to computer disk.
2.2 Pursuant to section 255(6) of the Municipal Act, 2001, a record does not include a record of a police services board that is directly related to any law enforcement activity with respect to a person or body.
3. Responsibility for Board Records
3.1 The Executive Director is the custodian of current records and shall assume overall responsibility for the records management system.
3.2 Every person in possession of private records shall be responsible for their proper use, storage, and destruction.
4. Electronic Document Management
4.1 Board agendas, minutes and other documents are created and managed electronically.
4.2 The Executive Director shall ensure the efficient management of electronic records by maintaining an accurate and up-to-date document repository and an electronic to facilitate quick document retrieval.
5. Storage of Board Records
5.1 Current active records shall be retained in the Board office.
5.2 Historical records shall be archived through the Office of the Regional Clerk and retained in a secure area within the Region’s Administrative Centre and at its off-site storage site.
6. Retrieval of Board Records
6.1 Requests to view or receive copies of records held by the Board shall be made to the Executive Director, Police Services Board. Requests to view or receive copies of records held by York Regional Police shall be made to the Coordinator, Freedom of Information, York Regional Police.
6.2 Administrative costs associated with providing the requested documents shall be in accordance with the current fee schedule for publications and documents established by the Region or with the Regulations under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, as appropriate. Fees may be waived at the discretion of the Executive Director.
7. Use of Board Records
7.1 Records shall be used in accordance with the privacy protection provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
7.2 At all times, the confidentiality of private records shall be maintained.
8. Disclosure of Board Records
8.1 Agendas and minutes of public meetings are posted on the Board’s web page at www.yrpsb.ca. Requests for other records of the Board shall be made to the Executive Director, Police Services Board. Requests for other records of York Regional Police shall be made to the Coordinator, Freedom of Information, York Regional Police.
8.2 All private records are deemed to be confidential and shall not be disclosed without prior consultation with the Chairman of the Board and/or the Regional Solicitor.
9. Records Retention Schedule
9.1 The records retention schedule specifies the type of record and its retention period.
10. eDOCS Records Management
10.1 EDocs is records management software that allows users to effectively share and retrieve electronic information from the online interface. Its features include using Public folders, which allows each functional area to have its own folder structure; which minimizes the time and effort put into locating documents. As well it has a version control feature. This ensures documents being edited are always the most up-to-date version and minimizes having pertinent work deleted in error. Codes have been updated to reflect the most recent in eDocs.
10.2 The Board has been in eDocs since March 2011. The Records Classification and Retention schedule is reflected in eDocs whenever a new document is placed in the folder structure. Group favorites make record classification quick and easy; displaying the group’s most commonly used file codes. The Board will continue to use this system to streamline their folder structure and standardize their document storage practices.
Records Retention Bylaw No. 2019-04 and Schedule A
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