Ontario rolling out police dashboard to monitor people out on bail for firearms charges
Dashboard an 'unjustified expense,' criminal lawyer says
The Ontario government is rolling out a province-wide police dashboard to monitor people who are out on bail for firearms-related offences, the province announced Wednesday.
The dashboard is a situational awareness tool and will improve information sharing between law enforcement agencies, according to a provincial news release.
"What we would like to see is stricter bail laws, point blank," said Graham McGregor, associate minister of auto theft and bail reform, speaking at Wednesday's announcement.
"But what we can do from the provincial side is make sure we're monitoring these people more effectively," he said.
After a person is granted bail, their bail conditions will be uploaded on the dashboard, said OPP Deputy Commissioner Karen Meyer.
When an officer is out on patrol, they will have information about that person, their address, the charges they're facing and surety information.
Officers can use this information to conduct bail checks. There is no GPS tracking involved in the dashboard, Meyer said.
The dashboard will be managed by the OPP. Currently, the OPP, as well as police services for Toronto, Guelph, York and Peel regions, are signed on to using the tool.
McGregor said he's challenging all police services in the province to sign up to the tool by the end of the year.
The dashboard is part of $112 million in spending the government is putting toward strengthening bail enforcement and monitoring for violent offenders, announced in April 2023.
Provinces have been pushing for federal bail reform
The dashboard is the province's attempt to address a flawed bail system, McGregor said.
"We've had enough of individuals getting arrested, getting a slap on a wrist and going on to commit more crimes," he said.
The 13 provinces and territories have been pushing the federal government to legislate stricter bail measures, writing joint letters to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year and in 2023 after several high-profile instances of crimes allegedly committed by offenders out on bail.
These instances include the fatal shooting of an OPP constable in late 2022 and the killing of a B.C. woman in her home last July.
In October, Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner released a public letter to the federal ministers of justice and public safety, asking for a series of bail reforms — including getting rid of the option for bail for offences including use of restricted or prohibited firearms.
Earlier that month, a Toronto police officer was shot while investigating a robbery by a man who was out on bail at the time, according to the Toronto Police Association and Premier Doug Ford.
Dashboard is an 'unjustified' expense: criminal lawyer
The expenditure and monitoring behind the province-wide dashboard is "unjustified," Rick Frank, a Toronto-based criminal lawyer, said in an email.
People on bail for firearm offences are already monitored by sureties and police, including through random police bail compliance checks, he said.
Frank said the dashboard pushes a "false narrative" that there needs to be enhanced supervision of people out on bail for firearm offences.
Rather than better arming police, he said the dashboard is only a data collection tool so the province can push for more funding for police for bail compliance measures.
"The Ford government knows that community supports for people on bail is more effective at ensuring bail compliance," he said. "This should be the focus of government resources."
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