Council backs more officers

Wants 250 added to force soon Province will help pay their salaries

Toronto should hire 250 more police officers as quickly as possible to boost the total complement to 5,510, city council says. And it has asked for a report on the cost of bringing the force back to the strength it enjoyed in 1992 — when the number wearing badges was 5,615. Councillor David Shiner ( Ward 24, Willowdale) led the charge for hiring more cops, pointing out that the provincial government will help pay the salaries of an extra 1,000 officers across the province.

“ We have been lucky because we’ve gotten away with the reduced police force for a decade now, but it’s coming back to haunt us,” he said.

“ There aren’t enough officers out on the streets, and the communities and ourselves no longer consider much of these streets safe, because we never know where there’ll be another shooting.”

Toronto’s share is 250, 46 of whom have already been hired this year. The new hires will be in addition to those brought in to replace officers who have resigned or retired. The city’s police services board plans to hire another 150 officers next year. In adopting Shiner’s motion yesterday, council has asked the board to hire another 54 officers in 2007.

After hitting the high- water mark in 1992, the city’s police force shrank — in part because civilians took over some of the work done by officers. The force reached its low point of 4,745 officers 1996 but has rebounded slowly since then. It currently stands at 5,306.

Toronto has experienced 74 homicides this year, while in 1992 there were 65. The record occurred in 1991, where there were 89.

Shiner said the smaller force has contributed to more crime. He pointed to an Oct. 24 incident on Bloor St. E. near Sherbourne St., when a man fired at another across two lanes of traffic. One of the three or more shots fired hit a passing car.

“ People don’t consider this a safe city any more,” he said. “When you can be down on Bloor St., not far from Holt Renfrew, and there’s a shooting in the morning, when you have 50 ( fatal) gun shootings in the city in a year, we have some obligation on the council to show some leadership.” But not all councillors agreed with the move.

“ Hiring police officers is not co- related to reduction in crime,” argued Councillor David Soknacki (Ward 43, Scarborough East).

Councillor Shelley Carroll ( Ward 33, Don Valley East) voted for the hiring but expressed some reservations.

Focusing on homicides alone is a mistake, she said.

“Things can happen in the crime world where you’re going to have this explosion of gunfire, and yes, it has to stop. But that’s going to come down to strategy, more than just pure numbers of officers.”