Race and Ethnocultural Equity Policy

Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world.   It is home to people from nearly every country, religion, racial and ethnocultural background. The Toronto Police Services Board embraces the racial and ethnocultural diversity of the City of Toronto. The Board is committed to ensuring that: 

The Toronto Police Service will provide services in partnership with all the communities of the City and in a way that is equitable, respectful, inclusive and culturally competent; and 

The Board and the Service will have human resources practices in place which aim to make the Service truly reflective of the City at all levels and enable all its employees and volunteers to work without discrimination or harassment, regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, nationality, religion or language. 

To this end, the Board supports the efforts of the Toronto Police Service to achieve racial and ethnocultural equality. 

It is the policy of the Toronto Police Services Board that: 

1. Discriminatory treatment of members of the public or of the Service based on race, sex, place of origin, sexual orientation, age, disability and socio-economic status will not be tolerated; 

2. Practices that may be racist, as well as behaviours that underlie and reinforce such practices, will not be tolerated; and 

3. The Chief of Police will develop procedures to implement this policy. These procedures will cover, but will not be limited to, the following areas: 

Service Delivery 

Service delivery includes all those ways in which members of the Toronto Police Service interact with the public. This includes, but is not limited to stops, searches, execution of warrants, response to 911 calls, participation in public events, membership of police-community committees, partnership and outsourcing arrangements. 

Professional Development 

Professional development includes training programs that address issues of diversity and cultural competencies and promote prevention of actions that are contrary to this policy. These programs will be evaluated on a continual basis to assess their adequacy and effectiveness in meeting the objectives of this policy. 

Recruitment, Selection and Promotion 

Recruitment, selection, hiring and promotional practices will promote and facilitate greater participation in, and greater access to, employment and promotion by members of diverse groups at all levels of the Service. 

Professional Conduct 

Procedures must reinforce and encourage positive, professional, ethical and ethnoculturally sensitive practices. 

Supervision and Accountability 

The Chief of Police will report to the Board annually on the effectiveness and impact of the implementation of this policy. Such reporting should include any procedures developed, an assessment of the impact and effectiveness of such procedures on practices throughout the organization, and should provide details of mechanisms to ensure accountability by all levels of management.