Toronto cops expanding neighbourhood programs

Toronto’s police service is set to expand an existing neighbourhood officer program in an effort to “build trust and reduce crime,” but critics say it’s unlikely to do either.

Deputy Chief Peter Yuen, who is in charge of the police force’s communities and neighbourhoods command, said the expansion will roll out in phases over the course of a year and will more than double the number of community officers on city streets.

“We want to deliver community-centred policing. We want to get back to connecting with the neighbourhoods,” said Yuen.

Yuen said in total, about 120 officers will be deployed to 27 neighbourhoods. The first phase of deployments begins on Monday, when 40 officers will be placed in eight neighbourhoods across the city.

He said more officers will continue to be stationed in other Toronto neighbourhoods through October 2019.

Yuen said the expansion would bring the total number of neighbourhood officers to about 220 situated in a total of 60 neighbourhoods.

He said it’s a four-year assignment for the officers, which he said will give them time to build relationships with the public.

The expansion boosts an existing program that has been running since 2013 and currently has 96 officers in 33 neighbourhoods.

A report that was presented at a Toronto police board meeting on Friday said the early focus of the program was “to increase police presence and address community problems . . . within particular neighbourhoods and improve relationships between community members and the police.

The report said that through the program, officers conduct regular patrols of the community and engage in “intelligence-gathering.” The report also said the program’s expansion will cost about $16 million each year.

Yuen said it will continue to have the same goals, but that officers will be more “accessible” to the community.

“Neighbourhood officers will have the training and the tools to go and assist neighbourhoods,” he said. “Neighbourhood officers will be available to the public 24-7.”

So far this year, Toronto has seen 40 fatal shootings, compared to 29 fatal shootings in all of 2017, according to Toronto police crime statistics.