The provincial government is giving police forces more tools to track down missing people quicker.
Solicitor General Sylvia Jones notes the Missing Persons Act, introduced July 1st, gives police three pieces to use when there’s no evidence a crime has been committed.
Jones says “The first will allow police to obtain copies of records that may assist in a search. The second allows police to obtain a search warrant to enter a premise to locate a missing person. And the third allows police to make an urgent demand for records without a court order.”
Jones says the changes support officers, but also strikes a balance with privacy issues.
“Including whether there is evidence that a person does not wish to be found. The Act also includes guidelines on what information police may disclose about a missing person before and after they have been located.”
Jones says the changes were a key recommendation from the inquest into the deaths of seven Indigenous youth in Thunder Bay.
I was pleased to mark the Missing Persons Act coming into force at the @TorontoPolice headquarters with @marksaunderstps. The act allows police to respond to missing persons investigations rapidly, while balancing concerns for an individual’s privacy. #onpoli pic.twitter.com/0o7KeQD80G
— Sylvia Jones (@SylviaJonesMPP) July 18, 2019
