Police facing ‘biggest transformation’ in decades
Big changes appear to lie ahead for police in Toronto and across the country.
Thestar.com
Jan. 25, 2016
By Betsy Powell
The vows of public officials to change the way Toronto is policed follow an unparalleled period of turmoil for the thin blue line in this city.
Criticism over carding and racial profiling, lingering resentment over heavy-handed tactics during the G20 Summit and a series of violent police interactions with vulnerable people have fuelled public distrust.
The civilian oversight board’s pick for chief, Mark Saunders, remains controversial. Critics label him the status-quo choice over reformer Peter Sloly, the deputy chief in the news recently for his blunt talk about policing.
And while Toronto Police Service and other forces across the province once got their budget requests rubber-stamped, today there are reports, expert panels and even summits addressing the rising and unsustainable cost of policing, even as crime rates have fallen.
Big changes appear to lie ahead.
Toronto Mayor John Tory has acknowledged the need for “significant” reform and said Saunders agrees.
In Ontario, the province is set to overhaul the Police Services Act, which could represent “the biggest transformation of policing in 25 years,” Yasir Naqvi, minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, has said.
“Whether or not folks in the policing establishment are ready, it’s happening,” says Anthony Morgan, a lawyer with the African Canadian Legal Clinic.
More than half of Ontarians surveyed in a poll last November said they wanted their tax dollars to go toward social services, including initiatives to tackle poverty. Less than one-quarter of respondents wanted that money put toward more policing.
Yet there is optimism.
Robert Chrismas, a staff sergeant with the Winnipeg police, believes the future for policing success lies in a more holistic approach. He is the author of the peer-reviewed 2013 book Canadian Policing in the 21st CenturyCanadian Policing in the 21st Century.
“Just arresting gang members, throwing them in jail, oftentimes they come out worse,” Chrismas told the Star.
“If we’re just reacting and not reducing victimization and crime, then what are we doing? We’re spinning our wheels. We need to be proactive and get at the root causes and bring in the other service sectors.”
A KPMG report that includes sweeping recommendations to modernize the Toronto Police Service concluded the force needs to adopt “new, innovative ways of delivering services and business to the citizens of the city.”
The controversial proposals fewer uniformed officers and closing divisions, for instance - received the most attention.
But the consultants also singled out some recent initiatives as “great opportunities” for Toronto police to build on. They included the multi-agency partnership “hub” in Rexdale and the Emergency Task Force’s joint initiative with social workers.
The “hub” model is a concept that started in Prince Albert, Sask., and is gaining traction across Canada.
Scott McKean, the city’s community development manager, calls the Rexdale hub a “game changer.” It allows police and a cross-section of social service providers to work together to prevent “situations leading to criminal behaviour.”
“What we’re trying to do is get in front of situations,” McKean said last week, adding that “silo approaches don’t work.”
“If we’re not looking for consistent innovations, then we’re relying on what we’ve always done, that’s always a problematic place (for a) service provider.”
Morgan said he’s encouraged by the initiative.
“We have so many more needs other than providing boots-on-the-ground officers. There’s so much more we could do to decrease the need for officers.”
Deputy Chief Peter Sloly was making that point in his remarks that sparked outrage from the police union.
He is a major believer in the Rexdale hub model, which leads to “less police work to be done.” In his “ideal world,” Sloly would also like officers to “embed” themselves in communities, focusing not on enforcement but prevention.
While some officers will say, “I’m not a social worker,” in fact, “social work, health work, community resilience work, is the vast majority of the work police officers do,” he told the fellowship program at MaRS.
Chrismas says changing organizational culture and attitudes within the policing world is a challenge, but “the more progressive minds, these days, are thinking proactive, getting at the root causes of reducing crime over the long run,” he said.
“There are still those who feel police have no role in partnering with other service sectors ... and there’s a mindset, call it the old-school police mindset, that the police mandate is to investigate crimes, period.”
Toronto police dollars, by the numbers
Toronto Police Service Base Salary:
Cadet in Training: $58,220
4th Class Constable: $66,165
3rd Class Constable: $75,626
2nd Class Constable: $85,079
1st Class Constable: $94,524
Toronto Police four-year collective agreement 2015-2018
Cost over the term: $65 million
Wage increases:
2015: 2.75 per cent
2016: 1.95 per cent
2017: 1.9 per cent
2018: 1.75 per cent
Major crime indicators in Toronto
27 per cent decrease from 2005 to 2014
Murder 80 in 2005, 57 in 2014
Sex Assault 1,657 in 2005, 2,209 in 2014
Assault 19,164 in 2005, 16,378 in 2014
Robbery 4,540 in 2005, 3,721 in 2014
Break and Enter 10,997 in 2005, 7,162 in 2014
Auto Theft 9,191 in 2005, 3,517 in 2014
Theft Over 1,133 in 2005, 1,014 in 2014
Key cost drivers in Toronto Police Budget 2016 Net Budget
Salary Settlement: $21.2 million
Salary Requirements: $745 million
Premium Pay: $41.8 million
Statutory Deductions and Fringe Benefits: $205.1 million
Reserve Contributions: $40.2 million
Other: $84.8 million
The police service’s 2016 net operating budget request is $1,015.8 million, which is a $36.1 million, or 3.69% increase over the 2015 approved budget.
“Despite significant efforts to reduce anticipated expenditures, where possible, the Service is unable to meet the City’s target of a negative 1% decrease from the 2015 approved budget,” say budget documents.
In 2014, 4,125 Toronto Police Service employees earned in excess of $100,000, according to public salary disclosure
1,940 TPS employees had a base salary below $100,000, but premium pay, paid duty earnings and other payments pushed them over the threshold.
