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MAPLE RIDGE
British Columbia
Deep Roots
Greater Heights
TITLE:
POLICY NO.
CITY OF MAPLE RIDGE
BYLAW ENFORCEMENT - MANAGEMENT OF RECORDS
5.29
APPROVAL DATE: June 27, 1995
AMENDMENT DATE: September 12, 2017
POLICY STATEMENT:
The creation, use, disclosure, and disposition of bylaw enforcement records shall be governed by the
following principles.
(1) Creation:
A record shall be kept of enforcement action when there is an identifiable complainant,
including the municipality itself, regarding a perceived or real infraction of a regulatory bylaw.
The record may contain the following information collected explicitly for law enforcement
purposes:
• Date, time, property location and nature of the complaint.
• Name, address, and telephone number of the complainant.
• Owner(s) of property.
• Occupant(s) of property.
• Bylaw Enforcement Officer(s) involved.
• Log of enforcement actions.
• Resolution date and time
(2) Use:
The information in the record shall only be used for purposes of:
(a) responding to complaints regarding alleged bylaw infractions;
(b) investigating the validity of a complaint;
(c) enforcing, if required, the respective bylaw(s); and,
(d) compiling information to report or evaluate appropriate enforcement actions.
(3) Disclosure:
Access requests to bylaw enforcement records must be made in writing to the Office of
Primary Responsibility (OPR). The following summary information is routinely available:
• Date of the complaint.
• Nature of the complaint.
• Property location of complaint.
• Bylaw Enforcement Officer(s) involved.
• Outcome.
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A full copy of a complaint file may be obtained through a Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy request through the Clerks department. Personal information that is
reasonably capable of identifying a particular individual either alone or when combined with
information available from other sources, where the information reasonably permits
identification of the individual to those seeking to collect, use or disclose it, will not be
released.
Pursuant to Section 15(1)(d) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act the
City will not reveal the identity [complainant name, personal information of the complainant
or information that reasonably permits the identification of the complainant] of a confidential
source of law enforcement information. Personal information recorded about an identifiable
individual, including the complainant and alleged violator shall be kept confidential unless
written consent for disclosure is received from that person.
(4) Disposition:
Bylaw enforcement records shall be maintained for a period of seven years by the OPR after
a case is closed. Records which document precedents or protect the legal rights and
obligations of the municipality shall be retained permanently in the archives and the
remainder destroyed in accordance with procedures outlined in the City of Maple Ridge
Records Management Manual.
PURPOSE:
To set a policy for managing bylaw enforcement records in compliance with both the access and
privacy provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
DEFINITIONS:
Bylaw Enforcement Record: A record containing information created or collected by the municipality
for purposes of conducting a law enforcement investigation or proceeding
Confidence/Confidential: Information supplied to the municipality with the understanding that the
information will not be disclosed without the written consent of the source.
Disclose/Disclosure: To reveal, show, expose, provide copies of, sell, give or state personal or
general information from records under the custody or control of the municipality.
Disposition: The length of time records are to be retained and the method of disposal (i.e., the
physical destruction of records).
Enforcement Action: The investigative activities undertaken in response to a perceived or real
infraction of a regulatory bylaw.
Office of Primary Responsibility (OPR): The office or section which is the main custodian of the
master record, record copy, or information for the department responsible for bylaw enforcement.
Personal Information: Recorded information about an identifiable individual as defined in Schedule 1
of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Use: The purposes for which information is obtained or compiled by the Municipality.
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