Police Board to hold Hybrid Meeting on Wednesday May 14, 2025

TORONTO:  The next scheduled meeting of the Toronto Police Service Board will take place on Wednesday May 14 at 9:00AM. It should be noted that the Board will commence in public at 9AM before moving in camera for its confidential meeting, which will take place prior to attending to the held public agenda items.  It is estimated that the regular public meeting will resume at 1PM.

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 on an item included in the agenda 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 Tuesday May 13, 2025. 

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. Please note deputations on items not appearing on the agenda will not be accepted.

In addition, members of the public and media are welcome and encouraged to attend the meeting as an observer through our livestream at: https://www.youtube.com/live/zcBoknNUpjs

Items of Interest at this Board meeting include:

SENIOR OFFICER PROMOTIONS

The Board will consider a report from Chief Demkiw recommending the promotion of 16 Officers to the rank of Superintendent and placed on a promotional list effective May 14, 2025.  The report details the process involved in the selection process, noting that candidates were expected to demonstrate exemplary commitment to the Core Values, goals and objectives of the Service, particularly in relation to improving trust in and within the Service, accelerating police reform and professionalization and supporting safer communities.  In addition, they were asked to highlight their skills in community relationships, leadership, strategic thinking, planning, operations and administration.  The Board report contains a brief biography for each of the recommended candidates.

UPDATE FROM BOARD’S ANTI-RACISM ADVISORY PANEL

The Board will consider a report from Councillor Lily Cheng, Board Member and Anti-Racism Advisory Panel (A.R.A.P.) Co-Chair, and Asante Haughton, Community Co-Chair, containing an update from A.R.A.P.  The purpose of this report is to inform the Board of the direction of A.R.A.P. with regards to its status, leadership, upcoming projects and initiatives, and to request the Board’s approval on the recruitment of new members and A.R.A.P.’s updated Terms of Reference.  As the report notes, A.R.A.P. is mandated to advise and support the Board in relation to policing and addressing systemic discrimination, anti-Black racism and anti-Indigenous racism.  The feedback, input, and advice that A.R.A.P. continues to give the Board is immeasurable in value.  A.R.A.P. members represent a cross-section of sectors, expertise, experience and perspectives, ensuring that their voices and the advice that they provide reflect a variety of community sentiment.

HATE CRIME REPORT AND PRESENTATION

The Board will hear a presentation and consider a report on the Toronto Police Service 2024 Annual Hate Crime Statistical Report.  As the report notes, in 2024, there were 443 reported hate crimes, representing a 19% increase from the 372 occurrences reported in 2023. The report indicates that hate crime has generally increased year-over-year since 2019, with a sharp increase of 80% in 2023 that commenced immediately following the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.

As the report details, in 2024, religion, sexual orientation/gender and race/ethnic/national origin were the most frequently targeted bias categories. Anti-Jewish occurrences accounted for 40% of the reported hate crimes (177 occurrences). Anti-2SLGBTQI+ occurrences were the second most frequently reported (87), accounting for a fifth of the reported hate crimes, followed by anti-Black and anti-Muslim hate crime occurrences.

The report also includes information about the Hate Crime Unit’s expanded mandate and increased resourcing, as well as details regarding hate crime reporting and community engagement.

2024 REVIEW OF THE CITIZEN ONLINE REPORT ENTRY SYSTEM

The Board will consider a report from Dubi Kanengisser, Executive Director, providing the Board with the Review of the Citizen Online Report Entry System - 2024, prepared by the Toronto Police Service’s Audit & Quality Assurance unit.  As the report indicates, residents can report non-emergency crimes that do not require immediate police presence to the Service by way of calling the non-emergency telephone line or through the Citizen Online Report Entry (C.O.R.E.) system.  The review focused on the assignment and approval process of online reported cases, as well as a review of relevant procedures, and processes.  Overall, the findings in this report represent a medium risk to the Service. The report includes two recommendations and three issues.  It states that the C.O.R.E. system is not user-friendly and can be difficult to navigate, and suggests recommended improvements and updates.  The report also states that management needs to consider whether the C.O.R.E. system can be integrated with the new records management system (Niche) to reduce the need for manual intervention in the future.

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:          Sandy Murray
                        sandy.murray@tpsb.ca 
                        416-808-8090


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