The Ottawa police board meeting discussed gender-based misconduct and how to fix it.

There have been reports of sexual assault and harassment by Ottawa police, which are being investigated.

Despite efforts to stop misconduct, some employees don't think real change is coming.

Keara Dean spoke to the board about her bad experience with Ottawa police after she reported a sexual assault.

Dean felt hurt by the police after she tried to report an old sexual assault and they didn't help her.

The police took a defensive position and made Dean feel like she did something wrong.

Dean wanted accountability, but the police didn't give it to her.

Police Chief Eric Stubbs asked Dean to help educate his employees, but she's not sure if they're serious.

Dean felt like the police just wanted to make her feel better, not actually make changes.

The THRIVE committee will work on stopping sexual violence and harassment at the police force.

The committee has members who have experienced misconduct and will work to stop it.

The committee will look at patterns of bad behavior and make sure leaders are accountable.

A staff sergeant will work full-time on the committee, and other members will work on it part-time.

A board member questioned if the committee has enough resources to make changes.

The police chief said the committee members are passionate and knowledgeable.

Past efforts to stop misconduct have been costly and ineffective, and have hurt the people who reported it.

Ottawa police have a problem with sexual misconduct, and past fixes haven't worked.

Police are supposed to help victims, but they don't always do that within their own force.

Some police officers struggle to speak up when they see a colleague being harassed.

The board wants the police to update them on their efforts to stop misconduct every quarter.

The police chief will respond to questions about the abuse of police databases.

The board wants to know how the police detect and prevent database misuse.

The police chief said it's hard to track database searches, and auditing isn't robust.

The police will send an email to employees about increased penalties for database misuse.

The police chief said it's good to be at an in-person meeting, where people can interact face-to-face.

The board hasn't met in person since November 2022, and has been meeting virtually.

Staffing was a reason the board met virtually, but they're meeting in person now.

The Ottawa police board is having its first in-person meeting in over three years.

A court ruled that the police board violated people's freedom of expression.

A group called Horizon Ottawa wants the board to remove restrictions on public delegations.

The restrictions include submitting delegations in writing and limiting the total time.

A board member from Horizon Ottawa criticized the police budget and delegation restrictions.

Another board member said the criticism of the police budget should be directed at city council.

The Horizon Ottawa member said such comments discourage people from speaking at meetings.

A board member told the delegate to make more appropriate comments.

The delegate said the board member's comment was inappropriate.

The meeting discussed use-of-force statistics, body cameras, and other topics.

Some delegates spoke about the police handling of sexual assault cases.

A delegate spoke about his concerns about police body cameras and racialized people.

He said body cameras might make people think the police are taking steps to reduce brutality, but vulnerable people are still at risk.

The police want to equip all front-line officers with body cameras.

Black and Middle Eastern people are overrepresented in police use-of-force statistics.

A delegate asked why the use-of-force data doesn't include information on neurodivergent people or interactions with animals.

The board approved the police joining a shared facial recognition network with other services.