New guide on how to report missing persons in Toronto aims to dispel police mistrust, increase transparency
Toronto police have a new guide on how to report missing persons in the city, fulfilling a recommendation in an independent report that criticized how police have handled these cases in the past.
The new guide provides a number of resources for people looking to report a missing person, including:
What to do when someone goes missing.
What happens after a missing person report is filed.
How to work with Toronto police during a missing persons investigation.
How searches for missing persons are conducted, and what the investigative process looks like.
Supports available through Victim Services Toronto and other community agencies.
Information on unidentified remains.
Guidance if you are reported missing.
Prevention strategies.
In a news release Wednesday, Toronto police said the new guide demonstrates the service's "ongoing commitment to serve the community to the highest standard when a person goes missing."
Transparency, communication lacking in past cases: report
The guide fulfils one of the 151 recommendations in a 2021 independent review of the Toronto police force's handling of missing persons cases.
The in-depth review, prepared by former judge Gloria Epstein, found "serious flaws" in how missing persons cases have been handled, saying "systemic discrimination" had contributed to several investigations, including those looking into the victims of serial killer Bruce McArthur.
Among the issues outlined in the report, Epstein said the service was lacking in its communication with the public, and a mistrust of police from certain community groups "rooted in systemic or overt bias or discrimination."
WATCH | 2021 report finds 'serious flaws' in how Toronto police investigate missing persons:
Toronto police failed to investigate missing persons because of 'systemic discrimination': report
4 years ago
Duration 2:00
The co-chair of the team of community representatives that helped develop the guide with police says it addresses some of those trust issues.
"Throughout this process, we have heard from community that there is a lack of transparency on police processes and misinformation on how or when to report someone missing," said Haran Vijayanathan, with the Community Representatives of the Missing and Missed Implementation Team, in the police news release.
The guide "serves to support community to understand the processes so that they are confident asking for help from the police service," he said.
It provides information for people with concerns about reporting to police, for instance, including how to report if you can't understand English or are worried about how reporting might affect someone's immigration status.
"Being missing is not a crime," the guide says. "If you are a victim or a witness in any case, the police will not ask about your immigration status, unless there is a bona fide reason, which happens only in rare and specific situations."
WATCH | Police officials respond to 2021 report:
Interim Toronto police chief says review into missing persons cases 'difficult to read' and 'humbling'
4 years ago
Duration 0:51
Interim Police Chief James Ramer said there have been mistakes and missteps in the way Toronto police handled missing persons cases, especially when it came to the city's LGBTQ community.
Toronto police said in the Wednesday news release that while "progress has been made to improve public safety and community trust in missing person investigations, there is more work ahead." The release said the service will not stop until all 151 recommendations of the report are fully implemented.
The release did not say how many recommendations in the missing persons report have been fulfilled. In June 2024, police reported the service had fulfilled 71 of the 151 recommendations.
The new guide was co-developed by Toronto police, the community representatives of the missing and missed implementation team, and community agencies representing "diverse social, cultural and religious groups," the release said.
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