Forensic Identification Assistant (Details)

Name of province/ territory:

Ontario

City/ Region:

York Region

Description of Initiative:

The Forensic Identification Assistant initiative, which is part of the Scenes of Crime program, is a two-phased approach to redeploying uniformed officers (who were previously designated Scenes of Crime officers) to frontline duties, by hiring civilians to document and collect fingerprints, photographic evidence and DNA evidence at most property crime scenes. The civilians also assist in dealing with crimes against persons and do some laboratory work to analyze crime scene evidence.

Initiative Key Objectives:

This initiative has several objectives:

  • centralize the Scenes of Crime program;
  • free frontline officers up for core policing duties; and
  • increase customer service and provide a more efficiently managed program.

Section Responsible for Implementation:

Special Investigations and Support Bureau

Key Contact:

Fredrick Moffatt
393@yrp.ca

Groups/ Agencies/ Key Partners Involved:

  • other police services
  • civilian governing authorities
  • police association or union
  • other government departments/agencies
  • academic institutes (research & evaluation) - consultative (information sharing)

Level of Involvement (consultative - information sharing) and/or cooperative - direct involvement):

N/A

Amount of Time Initiative has been in Place:

Planning began in September 2012.

Reason for Undertaking the Initiative:

N/A

Resources Required to Implement this Initiative:

  • Staffing: 17 civilians ($62,000–65,000 each) by the end of 2014
  • Vehicles: three vehicles equipped for crime scenes (approximately $25,000 each)
  • Unique design uniforms: six ($40 each)
  • Office requirements including facilities for IT: approximately $10,000

Method of Implementation:

Two-phase approach:

  • Ten civilians were hired in 2013 to take over roles formerly held by uniformed officers (Scenes of Crime officers).
  • An additional seven civilians will be hired in 2014 as part of phase two of the initiative.

Key Outcomes of the Initiative:

Unknown at this time.

Availability of a Communication Strategy:

Yes

Key Messages used to Publicize the Initiative:

  • Allows frontline officers more time for core responsibilities.
  • Increased efficiency and customer service for victims/residents of York Region, including a decrease in wait times for crime scene processing.
  • Increase in fingerprint identifications, scenes attended and, ultimately, prosecution of offenders.

Forms of Evaluation by which the Initiative will be Assessed:

  • summative
  • external
  • quantitative
  • qualitative
  • Customer Service Surveys

Evaluation Completed or Community Feedback Received:

No

Summary of the Outcomes:

N/A

Summary of the Performance Measure Data Collected:

1. Measurement of response time to victims / scenes of crime.
2. Measurement of number of total fingerprint and DNA hits from scenes attended.
3. Measurement of the total number of scenes attended.
4. Customer service surveys from community members.

Economics of Policing Pillars:

Further Details:

N/A

Additional Comments or Suggestions:

This program is a model for other services within Ontario, with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as the only police force having a similar program. The implementation is being communicated to the Ontario Police College and will establish changes and standards in scenes of crime evaluation.

Record Entry Date:

2015-03-01

Date modified: