Belleville Police Services Board doesn’t make meeting recordings public, unlike other services

Open Council commentary

Belleville Police Service Board has demonstrated it has the capability to livestream its board meetings to the public on YouTube.

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:

From those [Strategic Plan] consultations, several clear themes stood out. Communication within the service and with the public must improve. Residents want police to be more visible and approachable. And the most pressing issues are homelessness, mental health, addictions, and traffic control. As you all well know, the community has asked for a police service that is approachable, connected, and engaged. One that shows up and listens.

Police Board Chair Heather Smith

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 board meetings recordings are not made available to the public, it undermines that commitment.

This practice is actively detrimental to government transparency. When meeting recordings are not made public, residents are blocked from learning how decisions are made and the reasoning behind them. This makes it more difficult for them increase their trust in the process, hold the service accountable for its actions, statements and decisions and for residents, journalists, and researchers to track local issues.

Maintaining a permanent, searchable public archive of past board committee meeting recordings (eg. on YouTube) is a minimal-cost, high-value way to provide transparency.