Gov't expands 'eIntake' electronic criminal charge filing in Ontario

The Ontario government is expanding a digital platform used by its police to send criminal charges electronically.

Announced earlier this month in combination with a swath of new spending commitments, the Solicitor General suggests this will allow police to spend more time fighting crime.

The eIntake system will be available in courthouses in the West Region this month following successful launches in the Northeast, Northwest, Central East and Toronto regions. This initiative will allow Justices of the Peace to enter their decisions and sign documents digitally and request additional information from police online.

“We are taking another step to modernize Ontario's criminal justice system to ensure information flows seamlessly from the police to the courts,” said Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. “The expansion of eIntake across various regions in the province is helping us build a more connected criminal justice system and will allow police to spend more time preventing and investigating crime to ensure our communities are safe and protected.”

The eIntake digital platform will be available in all courthouses across the West Region including London, Kitchener, and Owen Sound by February 23, 2022. The Ontario government is working to ensure the platform is available provincewide by summer of 2022.

“Improving the digital tools and information accessible to Ontario's police, prosecutors and courts is critical to bringing offenders to justice and keeping communities safe,” said Attorney General Doug Downey. “Expanding the eIntake digital platform to London, Kitchener, Owen Sound and surrounding rural regions will reduce paperwork and allow police and Justices of the Peace to spend more valuable time on core duties.”

Implementing eIntake is part of a series of digital initiatives the government is taking to build a more connected justice system that is seamless, simple and efficient. The eIntake system is also part of Ontario Onwards: Ontario’s COVID-19 Action Plan for a People-Focused Government , which is one of the more than 30 projects that are changing the way people and businesses interact with government.

Fact box:

• The eIntake system was successfully piloted in Barrie and Orillia from November 2019 to September 2020. The system was then rolled out to the Northeast court region in December 2020, the Northwest region in January 2021, the Central East region from May to September 2021 and the Toronto region in December 2021.
  
  
• Over 46,000 charging documents have been received by eIntake since the application’s launch.