Toronto Police Service
www.tps.ca
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News Release
Remarks to the Toronto Police Service Board, Chief Myron Demkiw, Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue, and Deputy Chief Robert Johnson, April 30, 2024
Broadcast time: 09:52 AM
Date: Tuesday, Apr 30, 2024
Unit: Office of the Chief
Case #: n/a
Check Against Delivery
Chief Myron Demkiw
Thank you Chair and good morning everyone.
Today I have a lot of information to provide and will be calling on Deputy Johnson and Deputy Pogue to assist.
In late 2023 and the early part of this year, our police service shared our concern in not being able to adequately respond to priority calls for service. We were transparent in our approach to sharing our response times to priority one calls while acknowledging that we needed to do better.
We are grateful for the support of the Board, the City of Toronto and City Council, which allowed us to continue to hire, and we look forward to our efforts to develop a sustainable multi-year hiring plan.
Today, I am pleased to report that since deploying 146 new police officers to frontline operations and promoting 80 sergeants and 50 staff sergeants to ensure frontline supervision, we are seeing early indications of an improvement in priority one call response times.
Specifically, over the last four weeks, we have seen a modest yet consistent reduction in the time it takes to get to Torontonians when they need us most.
This time last year, response times to priority one calls were approximately 20 minutes. As you recall, close to the end of 2023, response times had crept up to over 22 minutes on average.
Right now, priority one response times are 18.1 minutes.
We are achieving better response times for our most serious calls so far in 2024, while also attending 1,000 more priority one calls than this time last year.
That is a 7 per cent increase in priority one call volume, which is a significant increase over this time last year.
Due to this increase in our most serious calls, we are seeing response times for lower priority calls creeping up.
While we are seeing a positive, promising trend in relation to priority one response times, I am also mindful that we have a lot of work to still do in this area. We are seeing call volumes increase and with the fast approaching summer season, Toronto will continue to experience a unique amount of large special events and large gatherings of people that will produce an ongoing demand on resources as we serve the provincial capital and Canada’s largest city.
It is not just about police officers in vehicles.
We have worked with our communications centre, supervisors, and leaders at every level to find the levers we need to pull to improve core service delivery.
While four weeks is a very small snapshot and we need to be careful in managing expectations, I felt it was important for our communities to understand that we are doing all that we can to address priority call response times.
Community safety and wellbeing is a priority for the Service. Our work in this area is ever changing and we will evolve and adapt as required.
While we have been committed to driving down our priority call response times, we have not lost sight of the fact that communities here in Toronto and throughout the Greater Toronto Area continue to be impacted by carjackings and home invasions targeting vehicles, which will be addressed by Deputy Johnson.
In recent weeks, we have joined with our partner agencies in sharing with the public some of the incredible work that has been done as we look to dismantle the criminal networks and criminal organizations that drive this complex problem.
I am now going to turn it over to Deputy Chief Pogue.
Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue
Thank you Chief.
Since we met last month, five of our police officers have been injured on the job.
On March 29, an officer was injured in a serious collision.
On April 8, an officer was injured while arresting a carjacking suspect, and later that evening an officer was assaulted while walking to the station in uniform.
Then, on April 12, an officer suffered a severe stab wound while responding to a person in crisis.
And on April 13, an officer was seriously injured during the course of an arrest.
These officers have the full support of Command and all members of the Toronto Police Service.
These events underscore the inherent daily risks our officers face while serving and protecting our communities.
I want to thank each member for their bravery and dedication as they put themselves in harm’s way to keep others safe.
Building on this sentiment, I would like to acknowledge that April is one of the months when we formally celebrate the great work of our members.
On April 10, our Spring Service Awards were presented to 54 police officers and civilian professionals who demonstrated innovation, dedication, and compassion, who worked in partnership with other agencies to prevent and solve crimes and save lives. They went to extraordinary lengths to ensure our residents’ and communities’ safety and wellbeing. These awards included the 2023 Mental Health Excellence Award, Commendations, and the Chief of Police Excellence Award, Merit Marks, and Team Work awards.
And while we are on the topic of celebrating great work, the second in our “This is TPS” video series was posted earlier this month and was very well received by members and the public.
Watch what happens when two quick-thinking 55 Division police officers respond to a stabbing call: https://www.youtube.com/torontopolice.
We have several more of these videos coming soon, driven by community members who want to share their experiences with being helped by our Service.
On April 11, I was very proud to accompany faith leaders as we participated in our first simultaneous city-wide prayer walk with community members and police officers from every Division across the city.
This interfaith initiative promotes spiritual support, prayer, peace, and reconciliation. I was honoured to join Toronto Police Chaplain Wendell Gibbs in the 52 Division walk from Yonge & Dundas Square to the First Baptist Church.
With our city, nation, and world experiencing unrest, we are working with the faith community to share what it means to be peaceful, forgiving, gracious, and loving to build bridges in our communities.
For the last 20 years, weather permitting, Toronto Police Officers in 23 Division and Black faith leaders have held monthly walks in Etobicoke, meeting with community members and engaging them in prayer.
I want to thank Chaplain Wendell Gibbs, Chief Demkiw, Superintendent David Rydzik and Inspector Paul Rinkoff for their leadership and understanding that coming together through the commonality of faith makes a huge difference in creating and strengthening bonds.
Looking ahead, the 25th anniversary of the Ontario Police Memorial Foundation Ceremony of Remembrance will take place this coming Sunday, May 5, at 11:00 a.m. at Queen’s Park Crescent.
All are welcome to attend.
In two weeks time, communities and police services throughout the Province of Ontario will celebrate Police Week.
This year’s theme titled “Join Us”, emphasizes recruiting.
During Police Week, our Service will hold an event here at headquarters and we will debut a new recruitment video compiled by our Talent Acquisition team.
There will be many community engagement events planned throughout the week across all divisions.
I will now turn to Deputy Chief Rob Johnson for some additional comments.
Deputy Chief Robert Johnson
On March 27, the Toronto Police Service announced the results of Project Paranoid, an operation to identify and dismantle the organized criminal networks facilitating vehicle thefts and related activities.
In August 2023, the Service’s Organized Crime Investigative Support Unit began an investigation, which focused on the trafficking, shipping and re-vinning of stolen vehicles. As a result of this investigation, seven people were arrested, 105 charges were laid, and 48 stolen vehicles were recovered.
The Ontario Government funded this project through the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario, and a Preventing Auto Theft Grant.
Through the PAT Grant, Equite Association, which is a national, independent organization committed to reducing insurance fraud and crime, provided supplemental training to our police officers on best practices to identify re-vinned vehicles, how to recognize anomalies in Motor Vehicles Transaction records, and the process for seizure and examination of suspected stolen vehicles, among other topics.
As part of this investigation, several businesses in the Greater Toronto Area were identified as locations where stolen motor vehicles were stored and sold prior to being shipped overseas, or being re-vinned and registered to be re-sold in Ontario.
This work with other police services and the private sector demonstrates the importance of stakeholder collaboration to address an issue impacting our communities’ safety and well-being. Crime Stoppers Toronto also provided support and assistance throughout the investigation. Toronto Police also worked with the Canada Border Services Agency, Criminal Intelligence Service of Ontario, York Regional Police and the Halton Regional Police Service.
So far in 2024, we have had 107 reported carjackings in the City of Toronto alone.
That’s a 98 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
This year, the Toronto Carjacking Task Force has had recent success in their investigations, arresting 52 accused persons, laying 370 charges and recovering 83 vehicles.
We will not stop in our pursuit of those individuals that engage in violent carjackings.
One of these carjacking incidents is worth highlighting.
On April 6, a blue BMW X5 was carjacked by three masked men in the Ellesmere Rd. and Kennedy Rd. area.
Five days later, another young man was filling up his Lamborghini at a gas station in the Yonge St. and Sheppard Ave. area when a grey sedan approached. He was assaulted, and run over by his own vehicle as the suspects fled in his car.
The next day the Automatic License Plate Reader in a scout car spotted the stolen Lamborghini. Our officers observed the driver park the vehicle and enter a bar.
You may have seen some dramatic footage of the suspects recklessly reversing up a hill, smashing into police vehicles and narrowly avoiding officers.
Three arrests were made, three handguns and more than $18,000 was seized, resulting in 54 charges against the three accused.
I can’t stress enough the bravery and professionalism demonstrated by our officers who made these arrests. This is also a great example of technology enhancing community safety.
As of now, all stolen vehicles on file with the Ministry of Transportation are on the system to alert officers of the presence of stolen vehicles.
Police services throughout the GTA continue to collaborate and work together on this very serious community safety issue, and we will continue to dedicate a significant amount of resources to investigate, arrest and prosecute anyone who is involved.
On April 23, Chief Demkiw and I participated in the Be On The Lookout Top 25 most wanted launch.
BOLO’s campaigns have featured some 60 most wanted fugitives and offered more than $2 million in major rewards, and the BOLO program continues to make communities safer across the country.
This is the fourth iteration of the Top 25 campaign, which targets Canada’s most dangerous suspects wanted for the gravest crimes. Six suspects wanted by the Service are featured in this campaign, including the new number one most wanted.
This year’s campaign includes the BOLO Lineup and an online contest where participants can win prizes for correctly identifying some of the Top 25 fugitives in a series of lineups.
The Bolo Lineup initiative is the subject of a substantial awareness campaign, focusing on commuters in particular, to ensure massive participation. This initiative seeks to incentivize people for their attentiveness, even if they never encounter a fugitive.
I am pleased to report that thanks to the leadership of our private sector partners, pharmacists, pharmacies, and the Ontario College of Pharmacists, we have seen an 82 per cent reduction in the robbery of pharmacies thanks to the use of time-delayed safes.
There have been 10 pharmacy robberies so far in 2024 compared to 60 at this time last year, mostly involving theft of opiates such as oxycodone and fentanyl.
This an example of the value of private sector leadership and police partnering on crime prevention that has resulted in a significant reduction in violent pharmacy robberies.
And let’s turn the mic back to you Chief.
Chief Myron Demkiw
Since October 7, our Service has managed more than 650 planned and unplanned events and demonstrations. This has included special events with as many as 50,000 people, often with multiple events occurring at the same time.
Over the past 7 months, Service members have attended 1,072 hate crime calls for service, and there have been 244 hate crime occurrences resulting in 77 arrests and 200 charges.
We are continuing our daily engagement with, and increased presence in, Jewish and Muslim communities, including maintaining command posts near places of worship.
Earlier this month, in partnership with the Board and Crime Stoppers Toronto, we launched an important campaign to encourage the reporting of hate crimes and to bring awareness to the devastating impact hate crimes can have on our communities.
We encourage the reporting of any suspected hateful act to police by calling us or by making an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers. We are committed to doing everything possible to apprehend those responsible for hate crimes, and we encourage people to call even when they are not sure if what they saw meets the threshold of a hate crime.
I want to thank the Board for supporting this campaign and Toronto Crime Stoppers for their partnership and leadership in supporting our efforts to enhance public safety.
Our Hate Crime Unit continues to investigate each reported instance of hate, and we want to remind everyone that charges may be laid at a later time, such as hours, days, and even weeks after an incident, including a demonstration-related incident.
Chair, I would now like to close my remarks by speaking about my reaction to the verdict in the trial regarding the death of Detective Constable Jeffrey Northrup.
As you know, it has been a particularly difficult week for our Service and our members and has also led to some very difficult public conversations.
I fully understand the concerns that have been expressed, and I have been reflecting on my comments as the Chief of Police.
I apologize for my choice of words in those early moments outside the courthouse.
I want to be very clear and repeat that I respect and accept the decision of the jury.
As I have said, closure can never come at the expense of justice.
I should have been more clear that I support and accept the verdict.
We know there is nothing we can do now to bring back Detective Constable Northrup.
However, we do owe it to his legacy to ensure we are doing everything possible to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.
That is why I have initiated a full internal review of all aspects of plainclothes policing, including equipment and procedures for officer and the public’s safety.
I have also asked the Ontario Provincial Police to conduct an independent review and they are now determining the terms of reference for the review as a result of the adverse comments made by Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy.
We have also notified the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency. This is in compliance with the new Community Safety and Policing Act, which came into effect on April 1.
I will report to the Board on the findings and am committed to transparency.
I will share publicly everything that I possibly can regarding these reviews.
Thank you.
Stephanie Sayer for Office of the Chief
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