Have you ever been carded?

Are you “known to police?”

This is your opportunity to find out and, at the same time, better inform the public about the usefulness of the data police have been collecting on citizens for decades.

The Toronto Star is seeking people who have had encounters with the Toronto Police and believe they have been “carded,” and are willing to ask for — and share — their carding information.

Carding is the controversial police practice of stopping, questioning and documenting personal details of citizens in non-criminal encounters. Between 2008 and late 2013, Toronto Police filled out more than two million contact cards on more than a million individuals.

Carding is in the news. The Ontario government has announced plans to regulate the practice, which is also being used by other police services in the province. Critics question whether many of the stops are for arbitrary reasons and violate Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The practice is currently suspended in Toronto

If you have ever been asked for identification in a stop, you may have been carded, and you wouldn’t necessarily know that the information from that stop is now stored in a large police database.

So, how do you find out for sure? And, what did police say about you?

File a freedom of information request for your own personal information. The Star is going to make it easy. Just download the request form at thestar.com, fill it out, and mail it to the Toronto Police Service. Make sure to include a photocopy of an acceptable piece of identification — a driver’s licence or birth certificate — as well as a $5 cheque, payable to the Toronto Police Service. You can also file a request with other police forces by following the same procedure. Here are downloadable forms for York Regional Police and Peel Regional Police.

If police have carded you, you’ll hear back from them asking for money to cover photocopying costs. It’s 20 cents a page. Send that in, and when the results come back, share them with the Star.

Send the results — and any questions you might have — to Star journalists at this email address: carding@thestar.ca .

If money is a problem, we’d like to help. Send us an email.

F.A.Q.

Q. Why does the Star want the information?

Star journalists want to see why people are being stopped, the circumstances and what information police chose to document. They also want to see how accurate and useful the information is.

Q. Will the Star publish all of the information?

No. Addresses, dates of birth and other sensitive pieces of information will not be published.

Q. How much does all of this cost?

It’s $5 for the request, and 20 cents per page for any results. If you’ve only been carded once, this amounts to less than a dollar.

Q. If I can’t afford to pay the fees, will the Star help?

Yes, we will. Email the team of journalists at carding@thestar.ca .

Q. What sort of ID do I need?

A photocopy of any one of these will work: driver’s licence, government employment card; military employment card; age of majority card; Canadian citizenship card; Indian status card, international student card; passport, permanent resident card; firearms acquisition certificate; Canadian National Institute for the Blind card; birth certificate; baptismal certificate; hunting or fishing licence; outdoors card; hospital card; Canadian Blood Donor card; immigration papers.

Q. Do police accept personal cheques?

Yes, they do. Money orders as well. Make them out to: Toronto Police Service, or to the respective police force you are requesting information from (York, Peel). Police are not set up to take online requests.

Q. Do I have to appear in person to request my information?

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

No. You can request it by regular mail.

Q. How long does it take?

You should get a decision letter within 30 days. Police may ask for an extension. It could take months.

Q. Will I get criminal and any other police-related documents from encounters I’ve had?

No, if you ask for contact card information, you will get only that. If you want everything, you can ask for that as well.

Q. Do I have to share the information with the Star?

It’s preferable that you do share your material, with your name, for possible publication. If you want to share the information but not have your name attached to it, that’s fine, too. Of course, it is up to you if you want to send it at all.

Q. How long will the Star’s carding project last?

We do anticipate a cut-off point, but, at this point, it has not been set.

Q. Can I scan my material and send it by email to the Star at carding@thestar.ca ?

Yes, we’d prefer that. Otherwise, you can mail photocopies, along with your contact information, to:

Jim Rankin

Reporter

Toronto Star

One Yonge St.

Toronto, ON

M5E 1E6