Types of Police Checks
Vulnerable Sector Clearances
How to Obtain a Vulnerable Sector Clearance
Fees
Processing Time & Pickup Information
Additional Fingerprint Requirement
Additional Resources for Applicants & Agencies
Contact Us 

Types of Police Checks

Please click on the document name for further information:

• Information for Agencies
• Information for Applicants

Vulnerable Sector Clearances

The Niagara Regional Police Service provides three types of Clearance Certificates:

• Police Criminal Records Check (criminal record check only)
• Police Information Check (criminal record check + local incident check) 
• Police Vulnerable Sector Check (intended for individuals working with the vulnerable sector – includes criminal record check + local incident check + pardoned sex offence record check)

A Vulnerable Sector Clearance may be required for the purposes of:

• employment,
• volunteering, 
• student field placements

Vulnerable Sector Screening is intended for individuals being employed or volunteering with persons, who because of their age, disability or other circumstances, whether temporary or permanent are: 
(a) in a position of dependence on others or 
(b) are otherwise at a greater risk than the general population of being harmed by a person in a position of authority or trust relative to them. (i.e. working with children, the elderly, sick or infirm).

Please review the appropriate document at the top of the page – Information for Agencies or Information for Applicants for more details on what type of information (incidents, charges, etc.) is included on the Police Vulnerable Sector Check.

Due to a change in RCMP policy, effective December 5, 2010, we can no longer accept requests for Vulnerable Sector checks from persons residing outside of the Niagara Region. You must go to the police service that serves the municipality in which you reside. Students with a school address in the Niagara Region must provide a current local address and proof of address in order for us to process a Vulnerable Sector check request.

Vulnerable Sector checks can only be processed for applicants who will be working or volunteering here in Canada for a Canadian agency. As per RCMP policy, we cannot process a Vulnerable Sector check for applicants who will be working or volunteering outside of Canada or for applicants who need to obtain the VS check for a foreign agency.

How to Obtain a Vulnerable Sector Clearance:

Please contact the agency that is requesting the VS check in order to obtain either a Police Vulnerable Sector Check application form or a Vulnerable Sector request letter. Many of our local agencies have the application form on file. Agencies providing the application form must provide their agency name, mailing address and a contact person in the Contributing Agency box on side 2 of the form. Agencies providing applicants with a request letter must do so on agency letterhead. The letter must contain the full mailing address of the agency, a contact person, the applicant’s name, their role/who the vulnerable person’s are that the applicant will be working or volunteering with and a statement that a Vulnerable Sector check is required. This information is required in order for the Niagara Regional Police Service to complete a VS check. Applicants who obtain a letter will be provided with a Police Vulnerable Sector Check application form to complete at the station when they present the letter.

Receipt of incomplete waiver forms by the Niagara Regional Police Service – Corporate Records Search office will result in a delay until the information can be completed or verified by the applicant.

Once you have your completed Police Vulnerable Sector Check form or have obtained your letter from the requesting agency, please attend any of the following Niagara Regional Police Service Districts with the required documentation:

1 District -- St. Catharines - Central Records Reception
68 Church Street, St. Catharines
8am-4pm, Mon-Fri.

Note: 1 District - Central Records Reception is closed statutory holidays.

2 District -- Niagara Falls
4343 Morrison Street, Niagara Falls
24 hours

3 District -- Welland
5 Lincoln Avenue, Welland
24 hours 

5 District -- Fort Erie
1200 Thompson Road, Fort Erie
8am-4pm, Mon.- Fri.

6 District -- Port Colborne
501 Fielden Avenue, Port Colborne
8am-4pm, Mon.- Fri. 

8 District -- Grimsby
45 Clark St, Grimsby
8am-4pm, Mon.- Fri.

Directions to each of the above District stations can be found here: http://www.nrps.com/nrp/directions.asp 

Fees

Fees must be paid at the time the Police Vulnerable Sector Check form is submitted - $ 15.00 for volunteers/unpaid student placements, $ 45.00 for paid employees. You will be asked to show 2 pieces of government issued identification. 

Information on our Fee Structure and accepted methods of payment can be found here: http://www.nrps.com/records/fee.asp 

Processing Time & Pickup Information

Applicants must pick up their own completed Police Vulnerable Sector Check and show 2 pieces of government issued identification as proof of identity. In order for the Niagara Regional Police service to release or confirm personal information, we require proper identification to verify a person’s identity. One piece of government issued photo ID, and confirmation of date of birth must be presented. Examples of acceptable Identification are:

• Valid Driver’s Licence (with photo)
• Valid Passport
• Citizenship Card
• Birth Certificate
• Immigration Documents
• Native Status Card
• Marriage Certificate
• Baptismal Certificate
• Ontario Age of Majority Card
• Valid Firearms Licence
• Student Card (with photo)
• Vehicle Insurance or Ownership

** Please have on hand proof of address should this information not be available on the identification that you are presenting. Utility bills or Government mail with your name and current address can be accepted for proof of address if accompanied by photo I.D. and confirmation of date of birth.

Our turnaround time for Vulnerable Sector checks is currently 2 weeks. Once you have submitted your Police Vulnerable Sector Check form calculate 2 weeks from the date – this will give you your anticipated pick-up date. Due to the volume, we do not call applicants once their check has been completed. 

Completed Police Vulnerable Sector Checks will be returned for pick-up to the Niagara Regional Police Service district station closest to your home address. If you prefer to pick it up at a different station please make the request at the time that you submit your form so that it can be returned to the requested station upon completion.

Please visit our website at the following link http://www.nrps.com/records/c2.asp to determine if your VS clearance is ready to be picked up. As soon as you see your pick-up date or a later date, please attend your District Station with your 2 pieces of government issued identification to pick up your Vulnerable Sector Check.

Completed VS checks are available for 3 months from the date of completion. If you fail to pick up your VS check within the 3 months you will be required to submit a new Access to Information Waiver in order to re-process your request.

For further information, please call the Corporate Records & Information Management Unit – Search Office at 905-688-4111, extensions 4349, 4369 or 4400.

Additional Fingerprint Requirement

***************Important Notice as of July 19, 2010********************

Niagara Regional Police Service is advising citizens that recent changes by the RCMP are increasing the time required to complete some Vulnerable Sector Check requests. Applicants may experience delays in receiving their VS checks as applications requiring this type of background check are now scrutinized through a more rigorous screening process. 

In addition to checking past and current criminal records and local police contact information, the VS check includes a search of the pardoned sex offender database through the RCMP. As Niagara Regional Police Service does not have direct access to these records, we are reliant on the RCMP to complete this end of the search and provide us with a response. In 2009 in Niagara, VS screening led to about 4 “potential matches” (similar name, date of birth, etc.) to the RCMP’s database out of approximately 9,911 VS applications. These 4 potential matches were then required to submit fingerprints in order for the Niagara Regional Police Service to receive confirmation back from the RCMP as to whether our applicant was an actual match or not to the RCMP pardoned records. This step can prolong the screening process by several weeks.

On July 19, 2010, the RCMP instituted enhancements to the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system that we access to complete VS checks and where we submit the requests for the RCMP to check their pardoned sex offence records This enhancement broadened the scope for VS “potential matches”.  When submitting a VS query to the RCMP, the CPIC system initially attempts to identify a possible match to a sexual offence record for which a Pardon has been granted, based on the surname and given name of the individual.  If this query does not identify the possible existence of a record, the system performs a subsequent query based on the gender and birth date of the individual.  If this query locates a similar date of birth/same gender in the criminal and pardoned records, we receive a prompt for the submission of fingerprints to verify or refute the existence of a pardoned sex offender record.

Since the implementation of these enhancements in 2010 through the beginning of March 2011, the Niagara Regional Police Service has had 710 “potential matches” out of 14,481 VS applications. 

If fingerprints are required in order to complete a VS check, the Niagara Regional Police Service, Corporate Records Unit – Search office will notify the applicant by mail with an information letter and instructions on how to book an appointment time. Fingerprint appointments are currently available every Wednesday between 9:30 am-4:00 pm at 110 James Street in St. Catharines. Fingerprints are submitted electronically to the RCMP with a turnaround time of approximately 10 business days when there is no information on file.

Individuals affected by this enhancement will need to complete the following process if they wish to continue in order to receive their VS Clearance:

• If the application is for any purpose other than Volunteering (i.e. Employment, Student Placement, Adoption, Foster Care, Kinship Care, etc) the applicant must bring a $25.00 cheque or money order made payable to the Niagara Regional Police Service to their scheduled fingerprint appointment.

• If the application is for volunteer purposes, the RCMP will waive the $ 25.00 fee. In order to waive the fee, the applicant must have a letter from the volunteer agency on letterhead. The letter should contain the full mailing address of the agency, include a contact person, state the applicant’s name, their role with vulnerable person’s and that they are a volunteer.

• When the applicant attends the Niagara Regional Police Service for their scheduled fingerprint appointment they must bring either the required RCMP fee or agency letter. Fingerprints cannot be submitted to the RCMP without the required letter or cheque.

• The consent authorizing the Niagara Regional Police to conduct a vulnerable sector search through the RCMP pardoned sex offender database is completed at the time that applicants fill out their Police Vulnerable Sector Check application form (on side 2 of our form). Applicants who attend for fingerprints will have an additional consent to sign at the time of their appointment. The RCMP Form 2 is consent that if we receive a positive response from the RCMP (i.e. the applicant’s fingerprints confirmed that they have been pardoned for a sex offence) this consent once approved by the Minister of Public Safety, authorizes the Niagara Regional Police Service to contact the agency requesting the VS clearance as indicated on the completed form. Before we receive any positive results, the RCMP sends the results to the Minister of Public Safety for review and authorization of release. On our electronic device this consent is authorized with a biometric signature (fingerprint).

• The Niagara Regional Police Service will submit your prints electronically to the RCMP. The applicant will be notified by phone when we receive the results. Please ensure that you notify us should your phone number change during the waiting period.

It is important for the public to understand that under no circumstance does this notification confirm that the applicant is or is not a pardoned sex offender; however this “possible match” can only be ruled out via fingerprints.

Niagara Regional Police Service strives to meet a two week turnaround for VS clearances that do not require the extra fingerprint step. If fingerprints are required, the process will be delayed until we receive the results back from the RCMP, therefore, please ensure that you allow yourself ample time to process your request should this situation arise.

It is important that agencies requiring individuals to submit Vulnerable Sector requests are aware of this change because these agencies may experience a similar increase and the delay may affect their operations.

For further information on this process (overview of process, FAQs, processing time information, contact information), please see the RCMP’s website at: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cr-cj/vulner/index-eng.htm

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this process, please contact the RCMP directly by email at ccrtis-scictr@rcmp-grc.gc.ca 

RCMP – Vulnerable Sector Verifications Information (overview of process, FAQs, processing time information, contact information) http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cr-cj/vulner/index-eng.htm 

Volunteer Canada – information on screening for volunteer organizations http://volunteer.ca/topics-and-resources/screening 

The Ontario Human Rights Commission -
Information about Human Rights and employment:
http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/issues/employment 

Information about police checks and the hiring process: http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/resources/Guides/prc_interimguide/pdf 

Information on Mental Health and employment:
http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/issues/mental_health

Vulnerable Sector Checks are processed by the Niagara Regional Police Service, Corporate Records & Information Management Unit – Search Office.

We can be reached by phone at: (905) 688-4111, extension 4349, 4369 or 4400.

By mail: 68 Church St., St. Catharines, ON L2R 3C6

Our office hours are: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.