Chief Demkiw Renewed for Four Years

Toronto Police Service Board Chair Shelley Carroll announced the renewal of Chief Myron Demkiw’s contract for another four years.

“Chief Demkiw has demonstrated unwavering dedication to the people of Toronto, a steady and thoughtful approach to leadership and a genuine commitment to building trust with communities and with the members of the Service,” Carroll said. “His approach has been marked by a commitment to accountability, transparency and modernization.”

Chief Myron Demkiw Remarks:

Good afternoon, everyone. 

Thank you, Chair, for your words and for the confidence you and the Toronto Police Service Board have placed in me.  

I would like to acknowledge all our partners at City Hall, the Mayor, and all levels of government who work with us to deliver community safety and wellbeing in Toronto.

I want to thank community leaders and community members who are engaged and are helping to guide the Service.

And most importantly, I want to thank our members.

Every success we have had as an organization is because of their commitment and their belief in the mission of keeping Toronto safe.

Whether it’s the officer doing a night shift, the investigator solving a complex case, the parking enforcement officer working to keep our city moving, or the civilian professionals helping our Service run smoothly: you each have an important role to play in keeping our communities safe.

Every day, I’m grateful for and proud to work with all of you.

You continue to inspire me, and as Chief, one of my top priorities will always be to make sure that you have what you need to succeed.

When I became Chief in 2022, I stated my priorities clearly:

• To improve trust in and within the Service
• To accelerate police reform and professionalization
• And to support safer communities

We have made a lot of progress on these priorities already, and our efforts continue.

To help guide this work, I presented a renewed policing roadmap to the Board earlier today, a roadmap that focuses on Community Safety and Wellbeing.

While we work on this, we look forward to the Board’s strategic plan, and we will make sure our operational approach is aligned.

We will continue to focus on six pillars:

Partnering better with communities and businesses, and with health care, housing, and social services providers – not only to respond, but to plan together, work on prevention, address root causes, and hold each other accountable.

Hyper-localizing, to gain the insights and trust needed to intervene early and respond more effectively.

Standardizing investigations, to facilitate a whole-of-Service approach to crime, break down silos, and increase productivity.

Using data more, and using it well to identify dangerous people, partner more intelligently and tailor our approach to the realities on the ground.

Being precise & focused, to focus our efforts on those who do the most harm in our communities.

And making sure we have a Healthy Toronto Police Service, which includes member hiring, wellness, and succession planning, so that our organization is healthy and able to deliver results.

We will continue to talk about our roadmap and our pillars in the coming weeks and months.

The Toronto Police Service is the fourth largest municipal police service in North America.

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and one of the most diverse cities in the world, shaped by complex urban realities.   

In this context, our renewed operational roadmap will guide our members and ensure our efforts are co-designed, co-developed, and co-delivered in meaningful way with the communities we serve.

So far in 2025, compared to last year, our community safety indicators, including homicides, shootings and firearms discharges, and auto theft – are all down.

And we’re continuing our work so that people are safe, and feel safe in our city.

I have been a police officer for over 35 years, here in Toronto.

I was born here. I grew up here and I do love this city.

Serving as Chief of Police is the honour of my life.

I want to thank my team on the 7th floor, you all know who you are, Command members, the Executive Leadership Team, senior officers and members.

You truly are the very best in policing.

To my family, my wife Carm, and my children: thank you for your continued support. I would not be able to succeed without you.   

I am committed to continuing to work with our members, the Chair, the Board, the Mayor, City Council, communities, the Toronto Police Association, the Senior Officers’ Organization, and all our partners to keep our city safe and deliver real results.

Thank you.