Post 3: Measuring What Matters
Most police governance boards in Ontario have never been asked to measure their own impact. They track attendance. They approve reports. They follow procedure. But they rarely ask the harder questions. What difference are we making? What has improved because we were here? What does success actually look like?
This is not about blame. It is about reality. For decades, boards were given little guidance, little support, and even less funding or attention. That has changed.
The Community Safety and Policing Act (CSPA)has raised the bar. Now it is time to meet it.
Oversight means more than showing up. It means knowing what matters and how to measure it. It means leading the conversation with your Chief or Detachment Commander. It means asking for evidence, not just updates.
Here are questions every board should be asking itself:
- What are our top three priorities this year
- How were those priorities chosen
- What does success look like for each one
- What data are we using to track progress
- What has improved in our community because of our oversight
- What have we shared publicly about our work
- What have we learned and what will we do differently next year
And here are actions boards can take right now:
- Choose one priority and define what success looks like
- Ask your police leadership for regular updates tied to that priority
- Review the data together and ask what it means
- Share what you learn with your community
- Document what worked and what did not
- Use that learning to shape your next decision
Boards do not need to be perfect. They need to be intentional. They need to be curious. And they need to be willing to learn and lead.
Once we know better, we ought to do better. That is the work. And it starts here.