Police Board to hold Hybrid Meeting on Monday March 18, 2024
TORONTO: The next scheduled meeting of the Toronto Police Services Board will take place on Monday March 18, 2024 at 9:00AM.
The agenda is available on the Board’s website at: https://www.tpsb.ca/meetings.
Members of the public who wish to make a deputation may register using the regular process, at https://www.tpsb.ca/meetings/making-a-deputation. The request must be received no later than 12:00PM on Friday March 15, 2024.
The Board’s meeting will proceed as a hybrid meeting.
Sign-up to make a deputation
If you wish to sign up to make a deputation on an item, please use our Making a Deputation sign-up form: https://www.tpsb.ca/meetings/making-a-deputation. Registered deputants will have the option of making their deputation in-person or virtually. Virtual deputations would be available either by video via WebEx, or audio-only by phone.
In addition, members of the public and media are welcome and encouraged to attend the meeting as an observer through our livestream at: https://youtube.com/live/CWH5lEDnu28
Items of Interest at this Board meeting include:
CRIME STOPPERS PRESENTATION AND EVENT
The Board will hear a presentation on the Crime Stoppers program. Founded in 1984, Toronto Crime Stoppers is a partnership between the police, the media and the community that enables concerned members of the public to anonymously provide information on the identity of a criminal or incidents of criminal activity.
The program is one of the largest of its kind, and an extraordinary example of a hugely successful partnership between the police and the community. Through this program, the public plays an integral role in keeping our neighbourhoods safe, by providing our police service with an enormous volume of beneficial tips. The funds raised through the program are used to support crime prevention through community engagement, or important initiatives that aim to enhance community safety in Toronto
The Board will also consider a report from Executive Director Dubi Kanengisser, recommending that that, as an exception to its Special Fund Policy, the Board approve funding in the amount of $5,000 to sponsor the Toronto Crime Stoppers’ 26th Annual Chief of Police Dinner. As the report notes, this is a high-profile event that has over 400 guests in attendance, including, among others, police chiefs and senior police leaders from across the province, members from all levels of government and members from the business community.
As the report details, Toronto Crime Stoppers does not receive government funding and is solely dependent on fundraising initiatives, like the Chief of Police Dinner. This signature fundraiser not only sustains the program’s capacity to offer community rewards, but also allows it to deliver important public awareness campaigns.
MOBILE CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM (M.C.I.T.) – MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH HOSPITALS
The Board will consider a report from Chief Demkiw recommending that the Board authorize the Chair to execute three Memoranda of Understanding (M.O.U.) between the Board and each of the following partner hospitals: Unity Health Toronto, Scarborough Health Network and North York General Hospital, in relation to the Mobile Crisis Intervention Team (M.C.I.T.) Program, which partners a mental health nurse and a specially trained police officer to respond to 911 emergency and police dispatch calls involving individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. While there are M.O.U.s already in place with two of the hospitals noted, with the existing M.O.U.s being dated, and in receipt of a request from the North York General Hospital to enter into a M.O.U., the Service redrafted the M.O.U. to bring it up to date, including sections specific to M.C.I.T. as first or co-responders, body-worn cameras and pandemic situations. As the report notes, the M.C.I.T. program aligns with, and reaffirms, the Service’s commitment to its Mental Health and Addictions Strategy of zero deaths, while ensuring the well-being, safety, rights and dignity of individuals and communities.
REPORT FROM THE ONTARIO HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION (O.H.R.C.)
The Board will receive reports from Executive Director Dubi Kanengisser and Chief Demkiw regarding the final report and recommendations from the Ontario Human Rights Commission (O.H.R.C.) entitled “From Impact to Action: Final Report into anti-Black racism (ABR) by the Toronto Police Service,” which was released by the O.H.R.C. in December 2023. The purpose of these reports is to provide an overview of the 106 O.H.R.C. recommendations, and the proposed implementation approach. As both reports note, the Board and the Service have worked collaboratively to identify potential recommendations that have already been implemented or are already underway, and the Service is committed to co-designing, co-developing and ultimately co-delivering a consensus-building approach to the implementation and operationalization of those recommendations that we believe we can and should act on. This ongoing work has been undertaken both independently of and in conjunction with the O.H.R.C.
As with all meetings, a recording of this meeting will be posted and archived to the Toronto Police Service YouTube account at https://www.youtube.com/TorontoPolice for members of the public to access later at their convenience.
Contact: Danielle Dowdy
416-808-8094
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