> KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE REPORT

The KPMG report outlines 14 “areas of focus” which are aimed at reorganizing and “modernizing” Toronto’s current policing model. Here are the highlights.

Knocking down divisions: KPMG called for a “One Service” approach, which would completely reshape the model that has been in place for decades. The consultants said the board should consider getting rid of 17 divisions spread throughout the city and replacing them with “strategic hubs” with one centralized “tasking centre” or “brain” to better triage calls. Community policing: The report looks at getting more police officers out of their cars and into neighbourhoods, moving away from the current model that mostly sees officers dispatched around the community in their squad cars based from decentralized divisions. KPMG said this would also reduce the number of fleet vehicles (and therefore gas costs) needed by the service, representing significant savings. Data-driven policing: The authors found that data and intelligence “does not appear to be driving day-to-day activities or allocation of resources” — part of a theme throughout the report about a lack of proper data collection, organization and analysis. “An organization cannot manage what it does not measure,” the authors said, recom- mending the service invest in real-time tracking. A civilian for a cop’s job: Throughout the report, KPMG insisted there is room to better civilianize non-essential jobs currently being done by higher-paid uniform officers. It found the current uniform-to-civilian ratio at divisions was 19.5 to oneand that former chief Bill Blair’s own internal review “erred on the conservative side” and “demonstrated a reluctance to civilianize.” The authors found noted success in civilianization in Edmonton, Waterloo, San Jose, Denver and Chicago. Contracting out: KPMG says the board should be “thoroughly” considering outsourcing parking enforcement to the city, which handles some parking responsibilities now, or to a private company. It also found court security could be more efficient if contracted out, noting the trend in other cities has already been to privatize those services with little impact on the public and “significant cost savings.” Halt unnecessary spending: The report says that in the short term, the board should stop capital spending — $543 million planned over 10 years — for non-essential projects while they reconsider their priorities for service. Already there are plans to spend $15.25 million on construction and renovations of two downtown police stations.