How to get your police records in Ontario

How do I get my police records in Ontario?

Part 1 — What exists

A single police interaction can generate a dozen record types, held in different systems, released through different processes. If you don't name a record type, you will not receive it — requests are answered as written, not as intended.

The core file

• General Occurrence (GO) report — the formal narrative, in layers: front page, narrative(s), entity pages (how you're classified — victim, complainant, suspect), report checklist, approval and clearance pages, attachments list. Ask for "the complete General Occurrence hardcopy including all pages" — a narrative alone is not the file.
• Officer notebook entries — each officer's contemporaneous notes, held per officer. Name every officer and date; otherwise ask for "notebook entries of all officers involved in [occurrence #]."
• CAD event chronology — the dispatch log: when the call came in, unit assignments, timestamps for enroute / on-scene / cleared. Often the only minute-by-minute record, and the one most likely to conflict with narratives written later.
• 911 recordings and radio communications — audio, distinct from the CAD text log. Ask for both explicitly.
• Body-worn and in-car video — almost always a separate application with its own form and fee. Ask first for an index of what footage exists — which officers, which incidents, retention status — then apply for the footage. The index request also fixes, in writing, that the footage existed.
• Witness statements, photos, attachments — listed on the GO checklist but frequently omitted. If the checklist says "attached: yes," the attachment is a record you can demand.

The accountability layer — the part almost nobody requests

• Audit and access logs — who queried your name in the records system, CPIC, or MTO databases, and when.
• Supervisory review and approval records — which supervisor approved the report and its closure coding.
• Internal communications about your file — emails between units, transfers, status decisions.
• Retention and destruction records — whether anything about you was purged, and under what authority.

Part 2 — How to ask

Mechanics. Municipal and regional police: a request under MFIPPA to the service's freedom-of-information unit, $5 fee. OPP: FIPPA, through the ministry. You are requesting your own personal information — a distinct and stronger right than a general records request. Include your full name and date of birth, every occurrence number you have, dates and locations where you don't, and ID.

Ten drafting rules that determine what you get

• 1 · Itemize. Number every record type you want. "All records about me" invites one report and a cover letter; fourteen numbered items require fourteen answers.
• 2 · Ask by layer, not by document. "The complete GO hardcopy including front page, all narratives, entity pages, checklist, approval and clearance pages, and all listed attachments."
• 3 · Demand a three-way answer for anything named in a record: produced, or itemized with the exemption claimed, or confirmed in writing not to exist — with the deletion record if it once existed. This single structure eliminates most silent omissions.
• 4 · Ask for an exemption index. Record-by-record, which exemption applies to what. Blanket citations are a known — and appealable — deficiency.
• 5 · Pre-empt the standard refusals. "Ongoing investigation" — ask for the investigation's status and clearance date in writing. Severed third-party information — cite the absurd-result principle: information you provided, or events you were present for, cannot sensibly be withheld from you as someone else's privacy.
• 6 · Ask whether the public-interest override was considered. The head must turn their mind to it; a decision letter that never mentions it is deficient.
• 7 · Send a preservation request in the same letter. One paragraph: all records relating to you and the listed occurrences — including audit logs, drafts, and communications — to be preserved pending anticipated proceedings. Its date matters enormously later.
• 8 · Request a written decision and note the clock. A non-answer is a "deemed refusal" you can appeal immediately to the IPC — $10 for personal-information appeals, and the process is designed for unrepresented people.
• 9 · Never argue your case in the request. Request records neutrally; save analysis for the venue that decides things.
• 10 · Verify everything against everything. The same event in a notebook, a GO narrative, and a CAD log — with different times or sequences — is not a small thing. Institutional records that contradict each other are the most powerful material in the file, and only a requester holding all three layers can find it.

Expect partial success. Refusals, severances, and "no records exist" answers are normal, and each is appealable. A documented refusal is itself evidence of how the institution handles accountability — nothing about the process is wasted.

Where to send it: Ontario police services

Every police service in Ontario is its own institution under MFIPPA with its own freedom-of-information unit. The service and the municipality are different institutions — a request to the Region will not reach the police, and vice versa. Details verified August 2026; always check the service's current page before sending money.

Making the $5 count: ask for everything in one request

The $5 is per request, not per record. A narrow request that produces one report costs the same as a comprehensive one — and if you have to go back, you pay again and start the clock again. Write one request that names every layer.

A structure that works

Head the request with your identifying details and every occurrence number you have (and dates, times and locations where you do not). Then number your items. Numbering matters: fourteen numbered items require fourteen answers, while "all records about me" invites one report and a cover letter.

• 1. The complete General Occurrence hardcopy for occurrence [number/date], including all pages: front page, all narratives and supplementary narratives, entity/involvement pages, the report checklist, approval and clearance pages, and all attachments listed on the checklist.
• 2. Notebook entries of all officers involved in the occurrence, for the relevant dates.
• 3. The CAD event chronology, including call receipt, unit assignment, and enroute / on-scene / cleared timestamps.
• 4. 911 audio and radio communications relating to the occurrence.
• 5. An index of body-worn and in-car camera footage relating to the occurrence — which officers, which cameras, duration, and current retention status. (See the note below on why the index first.)
• 6. Witness statements, photographs and any other attachments listed on the report checklist.
• 7. Supervisory review and approval records, including who approved the report and its clearance coding.
• 8. Audit and access logs showing all queries of my name or identifiers in the records management system, CPIC, and MTO databases, with dates, times and the querying member.
• 9. Internal communications (including email) concerning me or this occurrence.
• 10. The records retention schedule applicable to each record type above, and any record of destruction or purging of records relating to me.

Then add these four sentences

They do more work than anything else in the letter:

• The three-way answer. "For each numbered item, please either produce the record, or itemize it and state the specific exemption claimed, or confirm in writing that no such record exists — and if it once existed, provide the record of its destruction and the authority relied on." This single sentence eliminates most silent omissions.
• An exemption index. "If any record is withheld in whole or in part, please provide a record-by-record index identifying which exemption applies to which record or portion." Blanket exemption citations are a well-recognised deficiency.
• The public-interest override. "Please confirm whether the public-interest override was considered." The head must turn their mind to it; a decision letter that never mentions it is deficient.
• A preservation request. "Please preserve all records relating to me and the occurrences listed — including audit logs, drafts, notebooks and communications — pending anticipated proceedings." Its date is what matters later.

Consent to electronic delivery — say it explicitly

Some services will send records electronically only if you consent in writing. Include one line: "I consent to receiving the records electronically." It can save weeks and reduce photocopying fees, which are charged per page.

Body-worn camera is a separate process

Almost everywhere, footage is not part of the ordinary FOI stream. It has its own application, its own form, and its own — much higher — fee. Durham charges $84.75 per incident for a body-worn camera application; other services vary. Two consequences:

• Ask for the index before you pay for footage. An index tells you what exists, which officers recorded, and how long it will be retained — before you spend money on the wrong incident or the wrong camera. It also fixes in writing that the footage existed, which matters if retention later expires.
• Retention periods are short. Footage not flagged for a proceeding is routinely overwritten. Send the preservation request immediately, even before your main FOI is ready — it does not require the $5 and it does not require a form.

The refusals to expect, and how to answer them

Note the clock changed. As of July 1, 2026 the legislated response time moved from 30 calendar days to 45 business days — a substantially longer period in practice. Appeal deadlines to the IPC also shifted; check the deadline stated on your decision letter rather than relying on the old 30-day rule.

Two limits to know before you start

• Youth records. Records where a young person was dealt with under the Youth Criminal Justice Act are generally outside MFIPPA release, with narrow exceptions.
• Records already in a court proceeding. Once material forms part of a proceeding before the court, disclosure may fall outside MFIPPA and be governed by that proceeding's rules instead.

Details above were verified against each service's own published page in August 2026 and are summarized in our words. Fees, addresses and channels change — confirm on the service's current page before sending payment. This is general information about a statutory process, not legal advice. If a limitation period is running, get advice now.

Part 3 — Build your own record

Read the full guide: what police write down about you, and how to keep your own notebook →

The institutional record will be weighed heavily. The answer is not to hope yours is believed — it is to create documentation with the same properties that make police records credible: contemporaneous, dated, specific, and fixed in a form that shows it hasn't changed.

What to write, every time, as soon as possible: date, time, location, and how you know the time · who was present, with contact details · what was said, in order, quoting exact words where you remember them and saying so where you don't ("words to the effect of") · what you did and what they did, in sequence · any instruction you were given ("attend the station," "someone will call you") — the details most likely to conflict with the institutional record later · physical details: injuries, property, weather, vehicle numbers, camera locations.

Fix it in time. Email it to yourself the same day; keep it where timestamps prove when it was made. What to leave out: speculation about motive ("he seemed to decide I was the problem" is argument; "he spoke only to the other party for ten minutes and did not take my statement" is evidence) · other people's unrelated private information · legal conclusions · venting. One discipline above all: never alter an entry after the fact. If you recall something later, write a new dated entry saying so. A supplemented record is credible; an edited one is destroyed. This is exactly the standard officers' notebooks are held to — hold yourself to it and your record stands on equal footing.

Part 4 — Why this matters beyond your case

Access rights are used by a fraction of one percent of the people police interact with. Officers write notebooks and reports, and code files, in the reasonable expectation that the person described will never read them. Every request changes that calculation for one file. Enough requests change it for the system. Documentation produced in the expectation of scrutiny is documentation produced carefully — which is what everyone, including good officers, should want the record to be.

Deadlines in human rights, civil, and complaints processes are strict and short — anyone considering a proceeding should get advice early. Free help: Human Rights Legal Support Centre · community legal clinics via Legal Aid Ontario · the IPC of Ontario for access appeals. See Getting help.

What should I ask for?

Name each type: the complete General Occurrence hardcopy including all pages, officer notebook entries, the CAD dispatch chronology, 911 and radio audio, body-worn and in-car video, attachments listed on the checklist, and the accountability layer — audit and access logs, supervisory approvals, internal emails, retention and destruction records.

How long does it take, and what does it cost?

$5 to file, and a statutory response period. A non-answer is a deemed refusal you can appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner for $10.

What if they refuse or black things out?

Ask for a record-by-record exemption index; blanket citations are a known and appealable deficiency. Ask whether the public-interest override was considered.

Should I do this before or after I file a complaint?

Before, if you can. The side holding the record argues from evidence rather than memory — and a preservation request sent in the same letter, dated, matters enormously later.

Can I get body-worn camera footage?

Usually through a separate application with its own fee. Ask first for an index of what footage exists — which also fixes in writing that it existed.

You have a year to file. The video has weeks.

This is the gap that decides cases before anyone examines them. The deadline to bring a human rights application is one year. The recordings that would prove what happened are overwritten on a schedule nobody tells you about.

The five things to preserve first

• A written preservation request to every organisation that may hold footage — name the date, time, location and what you want kept.
• Body-worn camera, in-car and booking-area video — ask by incident date, time and location, not by your name.
• Private CCTV — shop, building, transit, parking lot. This is the footage most often lost, because nobody is obliged to keep it.
• 911 audio, dispatch and radio logs — frequently held on a different schedule from video.
• A dated account in your own words, written now. Institutions generate records as a matter of routine; you do not. Where their notes exist and yours do not, the difference is often read as a difference in credibility rather than in record-keeping.