New regulations governing street checks by city police have been authorized by the Sarnia Police Services Board.
Chief Phil Nelson says like many other services, they've been scrambling to meet the requirements of the legislation before the target implementation date of January 1.
"The one thing that has always been beneficial to us about policing the City of Sarnia is that we know the people who are committing criminal acts," says Nelson. "Of course we always come across new people, but we're seeing a lot of the same people on the streets that we already know."
Nelson says the legislation details everything you can and can't do.
"You can't stop people and ask for names and addresses or correct information on them, just to collect information," says Nelson. "We don't do that anyway. You can't stop people because of their race, colour, whatever their beliefs. That's a human rights code. You have to have legitimate reasons."
Nelson says officers stopping someone on the street, in an attempt to gather information, will now be required to issue a receipt to that individual.
The receipt will include particulars on when they were stopped, the officers name and an occurrence number. Nelson says officers will also be required to write up a detailed report stating why they attempted to stop the person to collect information.
"It must be understood that people who are not wanted, or being arrested, can walk away from us at any time. They have a right to say 'No, I don't want to talk to you. I don't have to talk to you.'"
Nelson says city police officers have to be trained on the new regulations before the end of December.
Classroom and online training will be followed by an exam.
