Toronto Police Services Board Thanks Deputy Chief Deputy Peter Yuen as He Announces Retirement

Today, Deputy Chief Peter Yuen, a member of the Toronto Police Service’s Command Team – an extraordinarily dedicated and skilled leader of our organization – announced his retirement.
 
Deputy Chief Peter Yuen, who is currently in charge of the Service’s Community Safety Command, which provides proactive and reactive public safety services and programs in partnership with diverse communities and key stakeholders, is retiring effective February 28, 2022.
 
The Toronto Police Services Board would like to thank this exceptional police leader for his incredible dedication to the Toronto Police Service, and to the residents of this city.  As an accomplished, professional, committed, and focused member of the Service’s Command Team, he has helped enormously in charting our way forward, with his vast combined expertise in community policing, criminal investigations and strategic management.

Deputy Yuen leads the Community Safety Command, responsible for all front-line policing, and oversees 12 districts consisting of 16 Divisions in the City. He is proudest of the meaningful partnerships the Service has developed and expanded that are most relevant to the heart of the community, including the Neighbourhood Community Officer Program, and the expansion of the Mobile Crisis Intervention Team Program.

Deputy Yuen has acquired an extensive variety of professional experiences spanning 35 years of policing, including in the areas of uniform patrol, undercover work, criminal investigations, community response, Asian Organized Crime, the Homicide Squad, Human Resources, Duty Operations and Corporate Risk Management.  He has been recognized as an Asian Organized Crime expert by Ontario courts, and has spoken both nationally and internationally on the topic.

Deputy Yuen has amassed a strong track record in impacting police policy and believes in community-focused policing that is accountable and transparent. He oversaw a comprehensive internal review of the Toronto Police Service ‘Search of Persons’ Procedure, leading to a complete overhaul of the procedure, training and audit processes, and resulting in the Ontario Independent Police Review Director declaring the changes as the “gold standard” that all other police services across the province should follow.  

Deputy Yuen is extremely proud of his Chinese heritage, and from the lens of his own personal experiences with diversity, actively seeks out honest public discourse and community input on policing issues. Always championing the voices of the community, Deputy Yuen serves as an executive member of the Service’s Race-Based Data Collection Strategy.  He believes that to combat systemic racism, we must first understand it and the community must have input on how we collect, store, analyze and share race-based data.

Deputy Yuen has received numerous awards for his career contributions, including the prestigious Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

Chair Jim Hart describes Deputy Yuen as “an assertive, committed and renowned leader in law enforcement, recognized for his tremendous operational expertise and experience, and his lifelong commitment to community policing.   Deputy Yuen has worked steadily through the years with Toronto’s communities to create and strengthen partnerships to achieve our shared goals, and has served as an invaluable mentor to many Members of our Service.”

The Board thanks Deputy Yuen for his outstanding and meaningful contributions to both the Service and the City of Toronto over the years.  He leaves a remarkable and lasting legacy that will continue to impact our organization as we move forward.
 
Taking over for Deputy Yuen as the lead of Community Safety Command will be Staff Superintendent Kim Yeandle, who will be Acting Deputy Chief, effective February 28, 2022.  Over the period until the Board appoints the next Deputy Chief, a number of senior officers will be given the opportunity to act in this role.
 
While the ongoing pandemic makes it difficult to celebrate his career in the traditional sense, the Board looks forward to doing so when possible, so that we can convey the immense gratitude of both the Board, and the public, to Deputy Yuen, for his significant contributions.