Police chief, board unveil planned changes
Progressive strategy acknowledges shortcomings of controversial TAVIS unit
Fewer cops in cars. No more outdated patrol divisions. Less bricks and mortar, more roaming, digitally connected officers.
With their interim report on recommended changes to policing, Canada’s largest municipal police force and its civilian board are together proposing a fundamental shift in the role of police officers in the city.
Claiming they are “redefining” policing in Toronto, a task force struck to address a slew of issues, ranging from ballooning costs to public trust, presented 24 ambitious recommendations Thursday aimed at modernizing an outdated model.
“The intention is to be much more community-centric in our policing,” said Toronto police board chair Andy Pringle, who co-chaired the so-called Transformational Task Force alongside Chief Mark Saunders.
“That’s the essential focus; the core of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Infused with language about a broader cultural shift in policing, the report also suggests changes to training and hiring, greater partnerships with the community, investments in technology — even the creation of an “innovation hub” to allow for ongoing professional improvement.
But while its progressive language is promising — including a frank acknowledgement of the damage caused by the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (TAVIS) — critics say the true test will arrive when it comes to implementation.
“I think we should all have a healthy level of skepticism with respect to whether the principles and promises that are laid out in this document actually become realized,” said University of Toronto criminologist Scot Wortley.
“Because there is a big difference between the vision that is outlined in this report and practically implementing it.”
As previously reported by the Star, the task force said it has found approximately $100 million in reductions and savings to the service’s operating budget over the next three years — $60 million of that coming from a three-year freeze on hiring and promotions.
It also recommends the closure of some of Toronto’s 17 police divisions — boundary lines that have not been redrawn in decades, despite shifting populations and changing neighbourhoods.
The erasure of those historic boundaries means the city will see “officers being where they need to be,” said Saunders.
“When you look at the analytics, the intelligence and information that we have, there is a swish that goes right through the city where most of the violent crimes are occurring,” he said.
“It doesn’t make sense to have 17 pockets all over the place when we know that there are certain areas that things are happening at certain times.”
The report also acknowledges errors made by Toronto police in the past, including the controversial TAVIS unit, notorious in some communities for its high rate of carding — stopping and documenting people not suspected of committing a crime.
The task force recommends the provincially funded unit be disbanded.
“There were unintended impacts on communities, especially among racialized youth who felt unfairly targeted,” the report says.
That acknowledgment should be encouraging to those who may be skeptical about the police service’s motivations, said Idil Burale, a community advocate and member of the task force.
“This is the first time that Toronto police is on record acknowledging that TAVIS was problematic. We have never heard the chief make any statement like that before. So there is a change in tone,” she said.
However, the changes will not come without backlash from officers. Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association, said officers are uneasy.
“What are the impacts to public safety, what are the impacts to policing, what are the impacts to them as individuals?” McCormack said.
Public consultations will now take place in the coming months before a final report comes out in December.