Policy No.
Effective Date      2000 08 14
Supersedes
 

TAB:                 PROPERTY AND FACILITIES

SECTION:        USE OF PUBLIC PROPERTY

SUBJECT:        VANDALISM AND VIOLENCE IN CITY FACILITIES
 

POLICY STATEMENT
The City of Mississauga will not tolerate vandalism or violence in its facilities and will take appropriate action to deal with incidents of vandalism or violence, including recovery of costs.

PURPOSE
Participation in recreational activities is an important element in the human development process. The City of Mississauga operates facilities and programs which encourage such participation, and is committed to ensuring the safety of patrons as well as staff.

The City of Mississauga recognizes that the majority of patrons use City facilities in a responsible manner. The costs of repairing facilities that have been vandalized or damaged through violence should not be borne by these patrons, or by the general public. Rather, the costs should be borne by the responsible party.

This policy outlines steps which will be taken to prevent violence and vandalism from occurring in City facilities and, where violence or vandalism occurs, the disciplinary steps which will be taken, including the recovery of costs incurred to repair damages.

SCOPE
This policy applies to all City of Mississauga facilities, and to all patrons of City of Mississauga facilities.

No form of vandalism, or of violence, is acceptable in City facilities.

For the purposes of this policy, "vandalism" is defined as the malicious, willful, and deliberate destruction, damage or defacing of property.

For the purposes of this policy "violence" includes, but is not limited to, the following behaviours:
*  loud verbal assaults;
*  threats and/or attempts to intimidate;
*  throwing of articles in a deliberate or aggressive manner;
*  aggressive approaches to another individual or group;
*  physical striking of another individual;
* attempts to goad or incite violence in others;
* racial or ethnic slurs; damage to property.

PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AND VANDALISM
The City of Mississauga is committed to working with major user  groups (such as sports leagues, clubs, and community groups) to develop education and enforcement programs regarding violence and vandalism. These programs will address:

*   the impacts of violent behaviour;
*  the impacts of vandalism to City facilities;
*  the City of Mississauga's position of "zero tolerance"
*  regarding violence and vandalism;
*  how everyone in the group can work together to prevent violence and vandalism;
*  procedures which will be followed to report incidents of violence and vandalism;
*  fines or other penalties which will be imposed should violence or vandalism occur;
*  recovery of any costs as a result of violence or vandalism; and

Major user groups are expected to promote the program within their organizations. In addition, organizers, players, parents, officials and coaches will be required to sign a "Code of Conduct" outlining the City of Mississauga's expectations regarding the use of City facilities.

City of Mississauga staff are responsible for promoting the City's "zero-tolerance" position and its Code of Conduct within City facilities, using mechanisms such as posters, signage and brochures, staff and community information sessions, advertisements, community displays, media releases, and the Internet.

DUTY TO REPORT VIOLENCE OR VANDALISM
All City of Mississauga staff have a duty to report acts of violence or vandalism to their immediate supervisor.

All patrons of City of Mississauga facilities have a duty to report acts of violence to a City of Mississauga staff person.

All incidents of violence and/or vandalism will be reported to Corporate Security and, depending on the severity, may be reported to the police.

ACTION TAKEN
The City of Mississauga will take appropriate disciplinary action when incidents of vandalism or violence occur in City facilities.  Such action may include the banning of the patron from the facility. In addition, the individual or group responsible for any damages to City property will be invoiced for the costs of repairing the property, and will be subject to an additional financial penalty.

The nature and degree of disciplinary -action taken by the City is at the discretion of the Commissioner of Community Services.   All correspondence related to discipline will be written under the signature of the Commissioner.

Discipline will generally take the following stages:

Stage 1:     for minor acts and/or first offences
- letter of reprimand
- invoice for full cost recovery of repair of damages (materials, labour, 10% overhead charge)

Stage 2:    for more serious offences and/or repeat offences
-  suspension and ban from all facilities for up to 30 days
-  invoice for double the full cost recovery of repair of damages
    [(materials, labour, 10% overhead charge) X 2]

Stage 3:   for serious offences and/or repeat offences
-  suspension and ban from all facilities for one year or more
-  invoice for double the full cost recovery of repair of damages
   [(materials, labour, 10% overhead charge) X 2]
 

Users of facilities are ultimately responsible for the behaviour of participants (in the case of sports groups, "participants" includes coaches, volunteers, players and spectators). In this regard, where the user is in attendance as part of an organized group, the applicable organization will be copied on all correspondence related to discipline. In addition to any disciplinary action taken by the City, the organization is expected to discipline the individual in accordance with its discipline procedures.

APPEALS
An individual who has been suspended or banned from facilities may appeal the decision. Appeals must be submitted, in writing, to the Commissioner of Community Services within 21 days of the decision. A $250 non-refundable fee must accompany all appeals. If the fee is not received, the appeal will not be entertained.

REFERENCE:
Appeals will be reviewed by the Commissioner of Community Services in consultation with the Violence/Vandalism Discipline Review Committee. The decision by the Commissioner of Community Services shall be final.
 

CONTACT:
For more information, contact Core Programs and Services, Recreation and Parks, Community Services Department.