Reducing Gun Crime in 43 Division
Officers in 43 Division seized 24 firearms and recovered three stolen vehicles through two projects initiated at the start of the year to address gun violence in the East Scarborough community.
“Since the seizure of these firearms, we have noticed a marked decrease in gun violence with one firearm discharge in July and one in August,” said Detective Jeremy Hayes.
They also arrested 48 people and laid hundreds of charges.
“At the beginning of 2024, we started to see incidents of gun violence trending upwards,” Hayes said, at a news conference at the Scarbrough police station on August 29. “As a result, we initiated Project Community, a collaboration led by our Major Crime Unit, Neighbourhood Community Office and the newly developed Bail Compliance Unit.”
A total of 18 people were arrested, 109 charges laid, six firearms seized and three stolen vehicles recovered.
We considered this project to be a great success,” Hayes said. “However, 43 Division was still tracking with the highest number of firearm offences in the city. By April 27, we had experienced 17 firearm discharges. Realizing there was more work to be done and building on the success of Project Community, we initiated Project Springboard with a focus on promoting community safety, disrupting gang activity and removing illegal drugs and firearms from our streets.”
Officers from various units across 43 Division assigned to Project Springboard from April to June 2024 collaborated with the Service’s Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force, including the Centralized Shooting Response Team.
This investigation resulted in the seizure of 18 firearms and 30 offenders face 297 criminal charges.
“This criminal activity greatly impacts our community and addressing and disrupting gun crime remains a top priority for our Division and our Service,” Acting Superintendent Ryan Forde said. “We know there is still much work that needs to be done and we remain committed to ensuring community safety for our 43 Division residents. With every officer working towards the same goal alongside our communities, we are confident these successful outcomes will continue.”
Of the 48 people arrested, 11 were Young Offenders. Also, 11 of those arrested were bound to firearm prohibition orders stemming from prior convictions.
