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Chief Myron Demkiw

Chair, this morning, before the start of our meeting, I joined our members and officers from other services at Queen's Park for the kickoff of the National Peace Officers' Memorial Run.

Hundreds of officers will run and cycle to Ottawa in honour of our fallen officers.

Then, on Sunday, we will stand with police members from across the country for the Canadian Police and Peace Officers' Memorial.

Every year, this is an important and meaningful opportunity to show our respect and stand in solidarity with one another.

To all members who are able to: I encourage you to join us.

This year will be especially difficult given the many tragedies we have experienced across the policing community, including here in Toronto with the loss of Constable Marc Pinizzotto.

We continue to remember Marc and honour his legacy, and we continue to do everything we can to support his loved ones.

He was a hero in life, and he is dearly missed.

This week marks the first week of fall.

Next week, on September 30, we will observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and raise the “Every Child Matters” flag here at Toronto Police Headquarters.

And before we go any further, I would like to take a moment to recap what I would argue was one of the busiest operational summers the Toronto Police Service has experienced.

Of course, we had FIFA, when Toronto welcomed visitors from around the world.

We also saw a full calendar of street festivals, concerts, and sporting events.

More recently, we supported the CNE, a visit from President Zelenskyy, and the Prime Minister's Canada Investment Summit.

For us, during events like these, no news is the best possible news.

It reflects our readiness, our effective coordination, and our ability to ensure these significant events unfold safely and without incident.

In the Jewish community, the High Holy Days concluded with Yom Kippur this past weekend.

We maintained an increased presence where necessary.

We will continue to maintain an increased presence to protect the Jewish community, both visible and covert, for as long as it takes.

The violence we saw this Sunday at a synagogue in Belleville was disgusting and disturbing.

Our thoughts are with the police officer who was injured, his loved ones, the Belleville Police Service, the Jewish community, and with everyone impacted.

Understandably, people are scared.

No one should have to fear going to their place of worship.

It is imperative that we all, in our respective roles, do everything we can not only to denounce violence and antisemitism, but also to take meaningful action.

In our role as police, we have and continue to take action by:

• Collaborating and coordinating with partners such as the Jewish Security Network
• Collaborating closely with the OPP and the RCMP
• We have expanded our Hate Crime Unit,
• And we have created a Counter-Terrorism Security Unit, and Task Force Guardian, whose role is to maintain a visible presence and provide tactical capabilities.

This continues to be a whole-of-service response.

To be clear: our members have demonstrated time and again their courage and their willingness to run towards danger.

And so have so many other police services, including Belleville Police in the past few days.

To our Jewish neighbours and friends: we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with you.

We will continue to ensure our members have the resources and strategies they need to keep communities safe.

Thank you, I will now pass it over to Deputy Johnson.

Deputy Chief Rob Johnson

Chair, the Chief spoke about the many events throughout the summer that required additional resources. We also faced a major storm on September 2nd, during which we saw nearly a 50% increase in 911 calls in a single day.

Our officers worked alongside other first responders under difficult circumstances, and I want to thank everyone who came together to support Torontonians who needed help that day.

Staying on the topic of 911 calls, Toronto was among several jurisdictions affected by the Bell 9-1-1 network outage between 3:13 a.m. and 4:40 a.m. on September 17.

Despite the disruption, our Communications Services and Information Technology teams worked together to ensure emergency calls could still be identified, assessed, and directed to the appropriate emergency service, with key technologies, such as RapidSOS and TNET.

Through RapidSOS, our teams were able to monitor wireless 9-1-1 calls and contact many callers during the outage, while TNET remained fully operational in handling non-emergency complaints.

It is a strong reminder of why investing in resilient systems and the right technology is so important.

And since we are mentioning TNET, I will let our CTO Colin Stairs give you an update.

CTO Colin Stairs

Thank you.

Chair, TNET, as you know, is our Toronto Non-Emergency Tool.

It uses AI to help resolve non-emergency issues, reducing the demand on our Communications Operators so they can focus their attention on more urgent calls for service.

I wanted to update you with a few numbers today.

So far this year, more than 6600 calls have been completed without requiring a Communications Operator. 

This also includes diverting non-police related inquiries to the appropriate agency. 

In August alone, 54% of calls were redirected to the correct service provider, ensuring callers reach the right resources quickly.  

At any point in the call, a member of the public can request to speak to a Communications Operator, if they choose.

We have also introduced AI-enabled reporting for security personnel who can now report people they have arrested in their retail businesses, through an automated conversation with TNET, eliminating the time they are on hold and creating faster and efficient processes for both TPS and our partners.  

Similar AI-enabled call management is also in place for the public to report theft, driving and noise complaints, property damage, collisions, and parking-related concerns. 

And while TNET is very effective, it is important to note that call management is still, at the same time, being reviewed and optimized to reduce the public need to wait for a Communications Operator.   

Thank you.

I will now pass it over to Deputy Pogue.

Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue

Thank you.

For my section of the update today, I wanted to highlight that I took part in the launch of a new Community Safety Hub at Dufferin Mall recently in 11 Division.

As you will recall, 11 Division is one of the four divisions where we added more Community Neighbourhood Officers at the end of last year.

This Hub is another step toward increasing our visibility in the community and making police officers more accessible to residents in the area.

We have already seen encouraging results at other Community Safety Hub locations.

At Fairview Mall and CF Shops at Don Mills, for example, a sustained police presence appears to have helped reduce criminal incidents.

We know that our presence matters to create safer and more welcoming spaces.

It matters for preventing and deterring crime, including retail theft.

And just as importantly, every conversation, every familiar face, and every opportunity for us to listen helps build confidence and trust.

Another place where we are working to establish a permanent police presence is Union Station, the busiest transit hub in the country.

The plan is to create a dedicated space for our officers on site.

We are also increasing our footprint elsewhere across the TTC system.

I just mentioned the expansion of our Neighbourhood Community Officer program, for example.

When we announced that expansion last year, it included dedicated NCOs for the subway system, deployed along Line 1 between Union and Eglinton stations.

We know that public safety on the TTC remains a key concern for people.

Today, I want to share that we will be increasing our presence from October 5 to November 27.

We are doing this while we prepare to present a transit plan to the Board later this fall.

This will result in an additional 48 callback officer deployments across Lines 1 and 2 of the TTC system during that period.

This is one example of the immediate steps we are taking, and there will be more initiatives to come.

Thank you. I will now turn it over to our CAO.

CAO Maria Duran-Schneider

Chair, on September 12, our Talent Acquisition Unit hosted the third annual Ontario Police Services Supporting Women in Policing Event.

Many of us had the opportunity to attend the event at the Toronto Police College.

The event was designed to raise awareness of career opportunities within the Toronto Police Service and police services across Ontario, encourage women to explore a career in policing, and provide an opportunity to ask questions and connect with experienced members.

Many of our units were represented through booths and displays, giving attendees the chance to learn more about the diverse roles available in policing.

I want to thank Superintendent Michelle Olszevski of the Talent Acquisition Unit, as well as everyone who contributed to making this event a success.

Recruiting women into policing, and ensuring that women within our Service have the support they need to succeed and advance, continues to be a priority.

This commitment aligns closely with our work toward the 30Forward objectives.

As you know, 30Forward is a national movement focused on recruiting, retaining, and advancing women in policing. It is an initiative grounded in research and focused on addressing barriers that women may face throughout their careers.

We are proud to contribute to this important work and to help advance meaningful change across the profession.

Thank you.

I will now turn it back over to the Chief.

Chief Myron Demkiw 

While we are on the subject of recruiting, I want to thank the Vice-Chair and everyone who was able to attend our recruit graduation in August.

It is always a special moment to welcome new police officers to our Service.

We know that police presence matters: in our neighbourhoods, at events, around places of worship and community centres, and in the transit system.

That is why the multi-year hiring plan continues to be so important, both for the Service today and for its future.

In closing, I want to echo some of what I said earlier about this having been a very busy summer and thank our members for their outstanding work.

I had the pleasure of attending our Fall Service Awards last week, and the stories of the members being recognized were truly incredible.

Some went above and beyond in dangerous situations to seize crime guns and protect victims of egregious crimes, while others demonstrated ingenuity, investigative excellence, and a commitment to the communities we serve.

It's easy to say that this is part of the job, but the reality is that many of these situations are difficult, dangerous, and life-changing.

They are life-changing, not only for our members, but also for the people we serve.

When our members go above and beyond to protect others, it's important that we take the time to acknowledge and commend them.

Thank you.