Process and Procedures Guide
INTERNATIONAL KARATE ORGANIZATION KYOKUSHINKAIKAN, CANADA (IKOKC)
Vulnerable Persons Protection Policy
Appendix C. Process and Procedures Guide
Police Background Check Process
a) Dojo operator/Head Instructor will provide to the Designated Authority a list of names of Members falling within the Policy Scope that will be required to complete Police Background Check.
b) The Designated Authority will provide to the Dojo Operator/Head Instructor a IKOKC Consent and Authorization letter (Appendix A and B) for each Applicant, who in turn will submit to their local police jurisdiction within 10 business days. Local Police jurisdiction means where the Applicant’s primary residence is located. Applicants can refer to Appendix E and access the particular local police websites for additional information, including identification and proof of residency requirements, fees structure and any waivers.
c) Applicant attends in person, completes any required police forms and submits IKOKC Consent and Authorization for Disclosure of Criminal Record information. Some police forces will process Criminal Record Check initially, including Consent to check for a Pardon for a Sexual Offence, and later finger- prints if required. Some police forces will process Criminal Record Check (CRC) and Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC), including Consent to check for a Pardon for a Sexual Offence, and fingerprints all at once.
d) Applicant is responsible for his/her own costs associated with CRC/VSC and fingerprinting process initially and for all/any subsequent renewals/rechecks. Research revealed that fees may range from $25 to $70 for CRC/VSC and $25 to $55 for fingerprints across the various police jurisdictions. Note: fees for Criminal Record Check/Vulnerable Sector Check and fingerprints may be waived for unpaid IKOKC Members by certain police jurisdictions. In Alberta individual Clubs can contact the Volunteer Alberta Administrator of the Volunteer Police Information Check Program (for as long as funding continues) to ascertain qualification for waiving fees for conducting police information checks.
e) The checks (for Relevant Offences under Canada Criminal Code listed under Appendix B ) will be conducted by the police jurisdiction in the area where the Applicant resides, and depending on the extent of electronic technology sophistication, can take anywhere from 1 day to 5 weeks.
f) The local police jurisdiction will return the original police form to the Applicant who in turn will forward the original police form to the Designated Authority.
The actual report from the police will flag 5 different categories:
- Records of criminal offence convictions for which a pardon has not been granted;
- Records of outstanding criminal offence charges pending disposition and outstanding warrants;
- Records of all charges regardless of disposition (excluding Motor Vehicle Act);
- Local police records, information files, details of allegations of criminal conduct or of statutory offences committed or suspected of having been committed, but not charged or convicted or confirmed by fingerprints;
- Record(s) of sexual offences for which a pardon has been granted.
g) If the CRC is flagged for any of the aforementioned reasons, the Applicant will be notified of that category, and the Applicant will have to decide if he/she wishes to disclose the nature of the offence to the Designated Authority.
The Designated Authority may access the Freedom of Information Act (Ottawa) to validate the accuracy of any disclosures. If further information/answers are not forthcoming then the Applicant, after review with the Branch Chief and Dojo Operator/Head Instructor, shall be removed from any further supervision, instruction, teaching, training, directing of Vulnerable Persons, and guidance will be provided as to his/her future role in IKOKC.
h) It becomes the responsibility of the Branch Chief and Designated Authority to determine if the nature of the offence and seriousness of incident, length of sentence imposed in any criminal proceeding, prior behaviour, and other relevant circumstances, is of concern to the integrity of IKOKC, balancing fairness in the confidential review on a case by case basis, while maintaining the safety of our Members.
i) As part of the CRC/VSC process the Applicant may be required to have his/her fingerprints taken and if the Applicant does not comply, it is equivalent to withdrawing from the CRC process. Furthermore if the Applicant does not respond to requests for additional information their determination of risk will be made based on information available. The Branch Chief, Dojo Operator/Head Instructor, Designated Authority will review the matter and provide guidance as to the future role of the Applicant.
The fingerprint checks (for Relevant Offences under Canada Criminal Code listed under Appendix B ) will be conducted by the police jurisdiction in the area where the Applicant resides, and depending on the extent of electronic technology sophistication, can take anywhere from 1 day to 2 months. Fingerprints are submitted to the Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services (CCRTIS). Fingerprints are used for verifying Individual identification and personal information, offence/risk determination and clearance purposes. It prevents people from concealing criminal histories.
In the case of“Consent to check for a sexual offence for which a pardon has been granted”, process experience indicates as many as 75% of the Applicants will get a hit requiring the Applicant to be fingerprinted as a matter of exclusion. This is due to the criteria using date of birth and sex information or the search results being inconclusive. The submission of fingerprints to the local police is not an accusation of criminality but rather a requirement for a thorough verification to confirm identity and protect personal privacy. Currently, most provinces permit Individuals to legally change their names without submitting fingerprints. In the past this created a small possibility for pardoned sex offenders to avoid detection.
k) Fingerprint submissions relative to civil screenings are destroyed after the search process is completed. This varies anywhere from 10 days to 90 days dependent on respective local police force procedures.
l) If no relevant or specified Offence is found or there is no determination of risk, a clearance or approval is sent to the Applicant, who in turn will forward same to the IKOKC Designated Authority, to advise that the Applicant is cleared to work with Vulnerable Persons. The Designated Authority will notify the Branch Chief and Dojo Operator/Head Instructor that the Applicant is cleared to supervise, instruct, teach, train, direct, interact and work with Vulnerable Persons.
m) If a relevant or specified Offence is found or there is a determination of risk, a letter of rejection is sent to the Applicant, who in turn will forward same to the IKOKC Designated Authority, to advise that the Applicant is not cleared to work with Vulnerable Persons. The Designated Authority will notify the Branch Chief and Dojo Operator/Head Instructor that the Applicant is not cleared to work with Vulnerable Persons. IKOKC does not see the particulars of an Individual’s criminal record; however IKOKC may request written reasons for a decision that may contain references to the criminal record. Information may also be available under the Freedom of Information Act (Ottawa). The Branch Chief, will review the matter and provide guidance as to the future role of the Applicant, who shall not be allowed to be in a position to supervise, instruct, teach, train, direct, or in unsupervised access. Any decision must be rendered in writing. This will also apply in the event a Member does not give consent to a Police background check.
n) In general criminal records are retained until the subject of the record is 80 years of age with no criminal activity reported in the last 10 years. Individuals are advised to contact Pardon Canada if he/she has any offences that he/she feels are old or minor, or he/she would like to clear his/her record.
o) The information on an Individual’s profile reflects his/her criminal record at the time which the search was completed and will only be updated once he/she processes another CRC. If an Individual is currently going through a pardon process or has changes made to update his/her criminal record on file with the local police there may be a delay before this information is available on the CPIC repository. This delay may be due to the time it takes to process data and enter into the CPIC system and also is affected by the jurisdiction in which any crime occurred.
p) If an Individual has had recent updates to his/her criminal record there may be a time delay before information is updated on the CPIC repository. If an Individual would like to dispute his/her record he/she should visit his/her local police and obtain a complete criminal record history. The local police will have further information on dispute resolution procedures.
