Overview

This privacy statement (“Privacy Statement”) applies to personal information which you (“you”, “your”, “yourself”) may provide by accessing or using any of Halton Regional Police Service's (“HRPS”, “we”, “us”, “our”) websites we link to this Privacy Statement (“Site”).

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. Personal information may include your name, contact information, opinions you provide to us, including opinions about the Halton Regional Police Service (“HRPS”) services or proposed projects, or other information that you provide about yourself as a result of using this Site.

Information that is not about an identifiable individual, including information that is about businesses, professional organizations or associations, is not personal information.

The Halton Regional Police Service is subject to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act ("MFIPPA") which sets rules for the collection, use, disclosure and handling of personal information. Information is collected by the OPS pursuant to its authority under MFIPPA, the Police Services Act, and the regulations enacted thereto. 

By using the Site and services and/or providing us with Personal Information you agree that you are at least the age of majority in Ontario or, if you are under 18 years old, you agree that you have the consent of your parent/legal guardian. This Site and the services are not intended for children under the age of 13.  If you are under the age of 13 years of age, then please do not use the Site or service.

Use and Disclosure of Collected Information

The HRPS may use your personal information for the purpose for which it was collected, for consistent purposes, for other purposes to which you consent, or for other purposes permitted under MFIPPA. In some cases, the personal information may be used for associated purposes which you would reasonably expect at the time you provide it. Your personal information will not be shared by HRPS unless it is necessary for these purposes. For example, the HRPS may forward inquiries to the responsible department, we may use your personal information to process and respond to your requests for services, or further information, and we may use and share information as needed for law enforcement purposes.

Disclosure of your personal information to external organizations may occur where required or allowed by law. Examples include disclosure to support an investigation connected to a violation of law, disclosure to prevent harm to you or to others, disclosure for the purpose for which the personal information was collected, or consistent purposes, disclosure with your consent, and disclosure in connection with court orders or procedures. We may transfer personal information to third party service providers that assist us with carrying out these purposes.

The HRPS may use analytical tools that use IP addresses to derive statistics or other information about the use of the Site. This may include the use of "cookies" and/or other similar devices. Cookies are small files that your web browser places on your computer's hard drive. We use cookies for a variety of reasons, such as remembering your settings, analyzing web traffic, and improving the Site. Information tracked through these mechanisms may include, but is not limited to: (i) your IP address; (ii) the type of web browser and operating system being used; and (iii) the pages of the Site a user visits. Your browser gives you the option to reject cookies. However, setting your browser to reject cookies generally hinders the browser's performance and will adversely affect your experience while using our Site. We do not use cookies, by themselves, to disclose the individual identity of any site user, and we never combine information gathered by a cookie with personally identifiable information, such as your name, telephone number, or your email address. These tools will not be used to identify you or to report identities in statistical summaries or reports.

The HRPS will not - under any circumstances - use any information provided by visitors for any purpose that is inconsistent with the purpose for which the information was provided, as stated on the web page.

Security of personal information

The HRPS uses processes to implement security standards for the operation of the Site that are current and intended to address known security threats. Access controls are applied to files including personal information to help ensure that they are accessible only to HRPS staff or agents for necessary purposes.

The HRPS uses encryption software for some applications to better protect your personal information during transmission. Please note that HRPS cannot guarantee the security of email or files sent through unsecured channels. You should take steps to minimize the amount of sensitive information you include in these communications.

Some third party service providers performing services on our behalf may store, transfer and process personal information at facilities that are located outside of Canada in countries (including the United States) whose data protection laws differ from those of Canada.  In such cases, the information may be subject to requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in those jurisdictions according to the laws in those jurisdictions.   

Links to Third Party Sites

This Privacy Statement applies solely to personal information collected or handled on this Site or on the subsidiary websites of HRPS services hosted within this website.

However, this website contains links to other websites that are created and operated by independent bodies and are therefore, not under the control of the HRPS. These website links are provided as a public service and do not imply the investigation or verification of the linked websites by the Halton Regional Police Service. The HRPS is not responsible, and makes no express or implied representations or warranties concerning the products, services and information found on the linked websites.

You should take steps to ensure you are comfortable with the privacy policies and security of these websites before providing any personal information to them.

Prohibited Use

This website is being provided for your personal non-commercial use. Any information contained on this website may be used, downloaded and printed for non-commercial purposes provided the content of the website is not modified, in whole or in part, and that every copy of the downloaded or printed information is accompanied by this disclaimer notice.

The information, software and products contained on this website shall not be modified, copied, distributed, reproduced, published, licensed, transferred or sold for a commercial purpose, in whole or in part, without the consent of HRPS.

Content and Logos

All Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) symbols, designs, branding (including logos and flashes) - and combinations or representations of these - are registered trademarks and are for official use only.  Any other uses/reproductions of the Halton Regional Police Service corporate identity can only be with written approval from the Chief of Police delegated to the Corporate Communications Unit.

Social Media

 Community Guidelines

The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) welcomes you to interact with us and our social media community. We encourage you to share experiences and provide your feedback.

To ensure discussions remain respectful and constructive, we’ve established the following guidelines, and by interacting with us and our social media community, you agree to comply with the guidelines below. Failure to abide by these guidelines may result in removal of a user's comment(s) and/or access to HRPS social media accounts. Please note, any comments or posts that users make on our social media pages do not reflect the beliefs, views and opinions of the HRPS.

Be Respectful

Any messages or comments that contain defamatory, discriminatory, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, hateful, ablest, abusive, aggressive, deceptive, obscene, harassing, indecent, inflammatory, knowingly false, malicious, misleading, offensive, scandalous, sexually explicit, threatening, tortious, violent, vulgar, profane or otherwise unlawful will not be tolerated. The offending post(s) may be hidden, reported and/or deleted at our discretion.

The HRPS also reserves the right to edit and/or modify comments and posts that contain content threats, off topic remarks and comments, violations of the Criminal Code of Canada, the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or any discriminatory language, expletive language, campaigning, partisan messaging, commercial advertisements, or other material deemed inappropriate.

Be Aware

The liking, following, retweeting, messaging, or sharing of content should not be interpreted as any kind of endorsement.

When you engage on HRPS social media, you are always subject to the host website’s Terms of Service.

Messages or comments that appear to be spam, or promote a business or organization for commercial gain, may also be hidden, reported and/or deleted at our discretion.

 

Violating these social media commenting guidelines could result in removal of your comment(s) and/or block access to our social channels.

 

 Social Media Disclaimer
 

For the most part, comments and messages posted to the Halton Regional Police Service's official social networking sites are considered transitory records and will not be kept as a permanent record by the HRPS . In the event that comments and messages are transferred for use on other websites or communication media, users acknowledge and consent by their use of the Halton Regional Police Service's social networking sites that their comments or messages may become part of the public record and used in official HRPS documentation. It is in the discretion of the HRPS which comments will be archived or used.

It is not the intent of the HRPS to collect any personal information when users participate on its social media websites other than what is volunteered to the HRPS. Comments and messages collected for the public record using social media will be treated like any other form of communication received by the HRPS.

The HRPS may monitor social networking content for factual accuracy and appropriateness and will make reasonable efforts to ensure that content it posts is accurate at the time of posting. However, it is in the nature of social networking communications that accuracy and timeliness are not guaranteed and may not be reliable; as such, the user acknowledges that the HRPS makes no such guarantees. As well, the HRPS is not responsible for the authenticity or suitability of content posted to the channel by others. Posted comments and images do not necessarily represent the views of the HRPS.

The HRPS cannot and does not guarantee your privacy on third party social networking websites as users are subject to the terms and conditions of the specific application. Users should review and agree to the third party terms and conditions prior to participating.

The HRPS will not be responsible for any losses or damages any user may suffer as a result of using third party social networking websites. Users participate at their own risk, for their own benefit and in so doing accept that they have no right of action against the HRPS related to such use.

 

Disclaimer

The Halton Regional Police Service does not guarantee in any manner the quality, accuracy, or completeness of any information on this website, or in links provided by this website. A link between HRPS's website and any other website does not imply endorsement or sponsorship of that website, or the creator of that website.

In the event of a discrepancy between the information contained on this website and the information contained in other records of the HRPS, the information contained in the other records of the HRPS shall be deemed accurate.

Changes to this Privacy Statement

The HRPS retains the right, in our sole and absolute discretion, to terminate or modify any of this Privacy Statement at any time, and without further notice or liability to any person or entity.  If we do this, we will post any amended Privacy Statement on our Site. As permitted by applicable law, any amendment will become effective at the time we post the amended Privacy Statement with an indication of the date this Privacy Statement was last revised or as otherwise stated in any notice we choose to provide to you.  It is your responsibility to check our Site periodically for changes.

Accessing and Correcting your Personal Information

You may request access to your personal information, and may request that we correct it if you believe it is inaccurate. The HRPS will comply with MFIPPA to provide you with access to your personal information that we hold. However, there may be circumstances where we are unable to provide all such personal information to you. For example, we may not be able to provide you with information if it: (i) contains the information of other persons; (ii) is subject to legal privilege; (iii) contains confidential information proprietary to the HRPS or another person; (iv) relates to an investigation regarding a breach or contravention of any law; or (v) cannot be disclosed for any other legal reason. 

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (“IPC”) is the oversight body for privacy law compliance by public sector institutions in Ontario. You may find contact and other information about the IPC at http://www.ipc.on.ca/.

Contact Information

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the privacy of your information in relation to this website, please contact:

Manager, Information and Records Service
Phone: 905-825-4777 ext. 4709
Email: info@haltonpolice.ca