Detective Constable Honoured for Giving Children A Voice

Detective Constable Dayna Boyko has spent 17 years listening to stories most people never hear — accounts of abuse, trauma and loss, shared only when someone is finally ready to speak.

“You have your good days and your bad days,” Boyko says. “But when you have your good days, you really celebrate those days.”

On Tuesday, the Toronto Police Service officer became the first-ever recipient of the newly renamed Barb McIntyre Champion for Children Award, which honours individuals who show unwavering dedication to improving services for children, youth and families.

“She’s a highly trained investigator who does an excellent job at interviewing children,” says Detective Sergeant Hunter Smith, who works alongside Boyko at the BOOST Child and Youth Advocacy Centre.

“She’s been a huge advocate for officers to get the training they need to properly conduct child forensic interviews. Dayna is very deserving of this award.”

Renamed this year to honour Barb McIntyre — a pioneer in preparing child witnesses and a former manager at BOOST CYAC — the award holds deep significance within the child protection community.

To many, Boyko was the clear choice.

As of January 2024, she officially became the Child Forensic Interviewing Specialist for the Toronto Police Service — a role that places her at the centre of some of the city’s most sensitive investigations.

She conducts approximately 60 interviews with children each year, offering them a space to speak safely and with dignity. But for Boyko, it’s not about recognition.

“Honestly, the greatest reward is a child having as good of an experience as they can when they come through the doors here at BOOST,” she says. “To feel like they were heard and respected. To me, that’s the greatest reward of all.”

Despite her passion for her work, Boyko didn’t initially set out to work in Sex Crimes. Her path began somewhat unexpectedly, after receiving a free ticket to a division-led conference in 2008.

“It seemed to me to be a crime type that was very clear-cut. There’s a victim and there’s a perpetrator — and I wanted to be part of those investigations,” she says.

What she couldn’t have predicted was the emotional weight each interview would carry — or the resilience shown by those who sit across from her.

“I think what I’ll never forget is the courage that people have, especially children, when it comes to talking about difficult things,” she says. “I feel a huge responsibility being the person that receives that message.”

Responsibility, compassion and quiet strength define Boyko’s approach. But colleagues say she brings more than just professionalism to her role — she brings heart.

“Dayna is one-of-a-kind. An officer, a friend, a caring person,” says Ann Williams, an office assistant at BOOST. “She just does everything to make families feel welcome and safe.”

BOOST’s President and CEO, Kayla Yama, says that even Barb McIntyre herself admired Boyko’s work.

“I checked in with Barb — she couldn’t think of a more deserving candidate,” says Yama, noting that the two had worked closely and McIntyre always held Boyko in the highest regard.

But Boyko sees “deserving” in a different light.

“The kids deserve it,” she says. “They deserve for the justice system to accommodate them and they deserve to have a proper interview when they come and speak with the police because some of them are the funniest, greatest kids you could ever meet.”

Boyko rarely seeks the spotlight. And even when she’s in it, her focus stays exactly where it’s always been — on the children whose stories she helps bring forward.

To her, they are the true champions. She is simply the one who listens.