Belleville Police Board does not publish policies and procedures online as required by CSPA

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by OpenCouncil
Published Nov 11, 2025, edited Dec 17, 2025

Belleville Police Services Board (BPSB) does not publish board policies, procedures or bylaws on their website as required by the Community Safety and Policing Act:

BPSB says they are in the process of updating their policies, will be available February 2026

The Belleville Police Service is in the process of updating their policies. The Inspector General’s Advisor is aware of the progress we’re making and supportive of our process and timing of such. We anticipate publishing our policy on the website over the next three months when the committee is finished their work and the Board adopts the policy as presented by the Committee.

BPSB spokesperson November 22, 2025

The Belleville Police Service Board is working towards compliance with the Community Safety and Policing Act (2019), which came into effect in February of 2024 with regard to new regulations required of Police Service Boards (Sections 43 and 44 of the Act). Additionally the Board is working on updating its Policies as required, as per Section 38 of the Act.

The Ministry recognizes that this is an iterative process and that our Board is taking steps to get into compliance.

BPSB website

Police Service Boards are required to publish all policies online

Police service board policies

38 (1) A police service board shall establish policies respecting,

  • (a)  the administration of the police service;
  • (b)  the provision of adequate and effective policing in accordance with the needs of the population of the area for which it has policing responsibility;
  • (c)  disclosure by the chief of police of personal information about individuals;
  • (d)  disclosure of secondary activities under section 89 and decisions under that section;
  • (e)  the handling of discipline within the police service;
  • (f)  subject to subsection (4), the indemnification of members of the police service for legal costs; and
  • (g)  any other prescribed matters.

Other policies

(2) In addition to the policies required by subsection (1), a police service board may establish policies respecting any other matters related to the police service or the provision of policing.

Section 38 of the Community Safety and Policing Act
  • By-law 2006-34 Belleville Police Service response to false alarms

Policies may also include

  • Procedure By-law
  • Board Policy Manual
  • False Alarm Reduction Bylaw
  • Alarm Appeals Document
  • Public Consultation Policy
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Public Complaints
  • Internal Complaints
  • Body-Worn Cameras
  • Dash Cameras
  • Drone Use
  • etc.

Police boards publishing policies online

Cornwall Police

Cobourg Police

Kingston Police

Peterborough Police

Ottawa Police

Durham Regional Police

York Regional Police Service Board

Open Council commentary

Municipalities must prioritize accountability and transparency.

Belleville Police Service states its commitment to transparency and accountability in its 2024 Annual Report:

Focused on supporting and assisting victims of crime, managing and deploying resources in a sustainable manner and maintaining public trust and ensuring transparency and accountability

And its 2026-2029 Strategic Plan:

This plan sets clear goals and priorities to meet the needs of our community. It is about enabling and supporting the people on the frontlines, strengthening trust through collaboration and transparency, and providing the tools and resources needed
to meet evolving demands.

When police service policies, procedures and bylaws are not made available to the public as required by provincial law, it undermines that commitment.

This practice is actively detrimental to government transparency. When policies are hidden, residents are blocked from understanding how the police service is supposed to operate. This makes it more difficult for them to hold the service accountable for its actions, statements and decisions and for residents, journalists, and researchers to track local issues.

The BPSB should adopt Open Government principles and maintain a permanent, complete, searchable public archive of current policies, bylaws and procedures as a a minimal-cost, high-value way to provide transparency.

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