Toronto Police Shut Down Vulnerable Persons Registry, Citing Low Use

Toronto police shut down their Vulnerable Persons Registry on Tuesday. The registry was a voluntary database that gave officers advance information about people who might go missing or have a crisis. Police said it was little used and has been replaced by better tools, CP24 reported. Dementia advocates call it the loss of an "important resource."

The Toronto Police Service said existing records will be kept for up to one year before being disposed of.

What the registry was for

The registry launched in 2019. Its "goal of providing officers with information that could help them safely and effectively interact with vulnerable community members" was described to CP24 in a written statement from police spokesperson Nadine Ramadan. Officers drew on it when someone got lost, went missing or had a medical or other crisis. The idea was that details shared ahead of time would be ready to use in an emergency.

Why police ended it

Ramadan said internal reviews found the registry did not "work as effectively as intended."

"Participation remained limited, and the information was not always available early enough in the call response to assist responding officers," she said. "The decision to end the Vulnerable Persons Registry reflects the availability of more effective tools and approaches that provide broader reach, more timely information, and greater benefits to the communities we serve."

She pointed to RapidSOS's Safety Network. According to Ramadan, it gives police communications operators and the operations centre faster access to important medical information. She also listed other voluntary options people and their supporters can use to share emergency information: Apple Medical ID, Android emergency settings, information for caregivers and MedicAlert.

Police have not said whether they plan a new program to replace the registry.

The ombudsman's findings

A 2024 investigation by Ombudsman Toronto found that communications failures and poor management led to low registration among the people the registry was meant to help. Ramadan said those findings helped "inform" the decision to discontinue it.

Ombudsman Kwame Addo told CP24 that his office found "several issues." "First, the police did not provide enough information for the public to decide whether they wanted to use it. They also did not invest in promotion or awareness-raising after the initial launch," he said. "No one person or unit within the police took responsibility for it. Finally, there was a lack of awareness among police staff about the registry."

The ombudsman's report was 69 pages long and made 13 recommendations. In response, Addo said, police agreed that any new systems will come with "clear, accurate information about their purposes, how to register and how registrants' information will be stored and accessed by police staff."

Concern from dementia advocates

Dave Spedding is CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Toronto. His organization serves about 15,000 of the 50,000 people in the city living with dementia. He said four in 10 people with dementia in Canada wander, and that a person with dementia is 2.5 times more likely to go missing than someone without the condition.

Spedding called the registry an "important resource" that many clients and caregivers used. He said it appealed to people because it was free and easy to use, and that its closure leaves "one less asset." He knows of roughly 3,000 users who were told by email in early September that it was being shut down.

His organization is directing families to its "Finding Your Way" program. The program collects information that can be shared with emergency responders if someone with dementia goes missing. "Preparation is key. … Information is power," Spedding said.

What to do in an emergency

Police are reminding residents to call 9-1-1 immediately if someone is in immediate danger, needs urgent medical help, or is missing and may be at risk.