Peel Police Service Board Expands Public Access to Governance and Invites Community Input on Peel Police Youth Engagement Plan

Region of Peel – The Peel Police Service Board is expanding opportunities for public participation in policing governance by opening its committee meetings to the public and inviting residents to help inform Peel Regional Police's evolving Youth Engagement Plan.

The Board's Governance and Human Rights (GHR) Committee will host a public community consultation whereby members of the public are invited to provide comments directly to the Committee.

Community Consultation Details

Date: Tuesday, Sept. 15 
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Regional Council Chambers, Regional Headquarters, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Brampton

The consultation is intended as a listening exercise to assist the Board in its governance oversight of Peel Regional Police and to help inform the ongoing development of the Youth Engagement Plan. Details are available at peelpoliceboard.ca.

Inviting Members of the Public to Participate

Members of the public are invited to contact the Peel Police Service Board at info@peelpoliceboard.ca with a brief summary of the perspective they wish to share. Individual presentations at Committee will be limited to five minutes to ensure as many voices as possible have an opportunity to be heard.

The meeting will begin with a presentation from Peel Regional Police outlining its preliminary Youth Engagement Plan, including its broader approach to strengthening positive relationships between police and young people across the community, including students, educators, school communities and other youth-serving organizations.

Residents who are unable to attend in person can watch the meeting live online or view the archived webcast. Additional information, including the meeting agenda and supporting materials, will be made available in advance of the consultation.

Expanding Public Transparency

The Board also announced that the GHR committee meetings will now be conducted in public wherever possible. Building on the successful introduction of public Finance Committee meetings, GHR committee meetings will be livestreamed and archived online, providing residents with greater visibility into the discussions and deliberations that shape policing governance before matters come before the full Board for decision.

The Governance and Human Rights Committee will be among the first Board committees to adopt this expanded public meeting model.

Livestream links and video archives for all Police Service Board meetings, as well as Finance Committee and GHR Committee can be found on the meetings page at peelpoliceboard.ca.

Commitment to Human Rights

As Ontario's first police board to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Peel Police Service Board and Peel Regional Police remain committed to exercising its governance and operational responsibilities through a human rights lens. That commitment will continue to guide the Board's oversight of the Youth Engagement Plan by emphasizing transparency, accountability, collaboration and meaningful engagement with Peel's diverse communities.

QUOTES

"Meaningful youth engagement begins with meaningful community engagement. As Peel Regional Police continues to develop its Youth Engagement Plan, the Board is committed to listening carefully to the voices of students, parents, educators, community organizations and residents. Our role is to provide governance that is transparent, informed by community perspectives and grounded in our commitment to policing through a human rights lens. We encourage everyone with an interest in this important work to participate in the conversation."

– Sumeeta Kohli, Chair, Governance and Human Rights Committee

"Public confidence is strengthened when governance is open, accountable and informed by the communities we serve. By opening our committee meetings, livestreaming our deliberations and creating meaningful opportunities for public participation, we are reinforcing the principles of transparency and collaboration that are essential to effective police governance. This consultation reflects our commitment to ensuring that community voices help inform the Board's oversight of policing in Peel."

– Nando Iannicca, Chair, Peel Police Service Board

SOCIAL MEDIA

MEDIA CONTACT

Peel Police Service Board
Email: info@peelpoliceboard.ca

N/R: 26-150 

Peel Regional Police – A Safer Community Together

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